[Japanese Company Employee Encyclopedia vol. 13] Distributing calendars on a moped, wearing down from quotas and the local community. ~The all-too-real life of a 'regional bank employee'~
Hello. This is 'Nippon Work Ecosystem Encyclopedia,' a series that depicts the realistic life patterns of people working in various industries and professions, mixed with a touch of emotion and fiction.
We have covered glamorous worlds like TV stations, flight attendants, and consulting, but this time we will shift our perspective slightly to the 'regions'.
A magnificent main branch building towering over the prime location in front of the prefectural capital's station.
Joining a 'Tier 1 regional bank' in that prefecture means reaching the pinnacle of the local employment hierarchy. If you go to a family gathering, you are praised with, 'You joined XX Bank! How brilliant!', and home loan screenings are a breeze. They are local dignitaries guaranteed absolute stability and credit.
However, their reality is far from the image of a smart financial professional.
They are the ultimate 'foot-soldier salespeople' who run around town on mopeds (Super Cubs) through rain and wind, carrying hundreds of calendars at the end of the year, bowing their heads, and meeting credit card quotas through 'begging sales'.
In a shrinking regional economy, let's take a peek at the emotional and tough life of a regional bank employee who shares the fate of local businesses and crawls forward in the mud.
Distributing calendars on a moped, wearing down from quotas and the local community. ~The life of a 'regional bank employee'~
'Walking with XX Prefecture, creating the future of XX Prefecture.'
The entrance ceremony. While listening to the president's proud speech, we, wearing brand-new suits, were convinced that 'my life is secure forever now'.
An absolute brand that everyone in the local area knows. If I go to a mixer, I am invincible, and relatives praise me, saying, 'As expected'.
However, what awaited us at branches across the prefecture where we were assigned was not the glamorous M&A or large-scale financing seen in dramas, but rather,endless 'begging sales' and rounds on a 'moped (Cub)'.
20s: Rainy days on a Cub and forced participation in local festivals
'Newbie! Go collect payments in this area and distribute campaign flyers by the end of the day!'
The partner of a young employee in their 20s is the company-issued 'moped'.
In summer, the inside of the helmet gets stuffy with sweat, and in winter, it gets so cold that you lose feeling in your fingertips. The worst is a rainy day. Wearing a tacky green raincoat, I run around town, risking my life to protect the bag so as not to get the important customers' passbooks or cash wet.
'My peers at the megabanks are probably riding in taxis in Marunouchi...'
I don't know how many times I muttered that grudge while waiting at a red light in a downpour.
And regional bank employees have 'side duties'. Local events.
'This weekend is the autumn festival at XX Shrine. All young staff are carrying the portable shrine.'
Weekends are ruined, and we wear happi coats and shout loudly in front of the branch manager and local business presidents. We are also dragged out for morning trash pickup and weeding in the shopping district.
We were consumed not as elite financial professionals, but as 'convenient young hands' for the local community.
When the end of the year comes, I load hundreds of rolled-up giant calendars into the front basket of my bicycle and run around to town factories and shops, saying, 'President! Please take care of us next year too!' This is the realistic winter tradition of a regional bank man.
30s: 'Demotion' at the same time as buying a home, and begging sales
When you reach your 30s, you start having corporate clients as a corporate sales representative.
This is where you face the intense 'quota hell'.
The era when banks could make money just from financing (lending money) is long gone.
Investment trusts, life insurance, and the number of credit cards acquired.
'President, could you have your employees sign up for 5 more cards by the end of this month...? The annual fee is free for the first year...'
'Begging sales' where I bow my head almost to the point of prostration to the stubborn local old man (the president). I threw away my pride in the Cub's under-seat storage long ago.
And the curse of 'transfers' unique to bank employees.
In the case of regional banks, although there are no nationwide transfers, you are shuffled around the 'entire prefecture (and neighboring prefectures)' every 2 to 3 years.
Many of my peers get married within the company and use interest rate discounts to build a magnificent home. However, 'being sent to a branch at the very edge of the prefecture the moment you build a house' is no longer an urban legend among regional banks, but a certain flag.
Every morning, I start my days pouring down energy drinks while commuting by car for an hour and a half each way.
40s-50s: A shrinking region and a one-way ticket to secondment
40s. When you get a position like assistant manager or branch manager, what you face is the 'realistic decline of the regional economy'.
Shopping streets where shutters are closing. Town factories that are closing down despite being profitable because there are no successors.
'Even if I want to lend money, there is nowhere to lend it to.'
Orders fly from headquarters to 'promote apartment loans and card loans more'.
We engage in a chicken race of interest rates with other banks through unreasonable lending competition, fighting bloodily over a small pie. 'Are we really helping the local area?' Such conflicts are crushed by the pressure of meeting monthly quotas.
As you approach your 50s, a clear line is drawn among your peers between those who can remain at headquarters and those who will be seconded.
Secondment destinations include the finance departments of local clients (small and medium-sized enterprises) with whom we have had long-standing relationships, or affiliated leasing companies.
Your salary drops, and you lose the prestige of the bank's name. It is a so-called 'one-way ticket.' The elites who linked arms at that entrance ceremony thus leave the bank quietly, one by one.
Conclusion: The muddy tracks we left while running around built this town
The day of retirement.
After receiving a bouquet at the small company where I was seconded, I drove slowly through the local streets in my car.
"Oh, that supermarket is still thriving."
"This apartment building is one where I pushed through the loan application when I was a junior employee."
"That local factory over there—the president's son managed to take over the business safely."
Days spent running around in the rain on a moped, handing out calendars, and bowing repeatedly to meet quotas.
Unlike the megabanks, we couldn't handle multi-billion yen deals that spanned the globe.
We just desperately kept the cash flow of small local companies alive, carried portable shrines at shopping district festivals, and lived by clinging to the 'daily life' of this town.
But the scenery of this town seen through the window was certainly shaped by the money we lent and the sweat we shed.
"Our work wasn't so bad after all."
The last calendar left on the passenger seat is illuminated by the setting sun.
My life, stained with the scent of worn-out leather shoes and moped exhaust, was incredibly gritty and something I am proud of, having walked it alongside this beloved local community.
*Disclaimer
This story is a work of fiction based on industry tropes and culture, and it has no relation to any actual banks, individuals, or organizations. It was written with respect for the nameless bank employees who continue to run alongside local businesses in a shrinking regional economy.
The higher a company employee's annual income, the less money they surprisingly have left.
This is because as income increases, rent, dining out, subscriptions, travel, and children's education expenses also rise little by little. Moreover, since none of these are 'flashy luxuries,' the person themselves doesn't really feel like they are wasting money.
That is precisely why it is important to first create a system that properly manages the living expenses that inevitably go out every month.
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I have summarized the details here.
■ Must-read books for surviving (or escaping) gritty quota-based sales
If you are a young bank employee who sighed after reading this article, thinking, 'What should I do about this month's credit card quota...', or if you are someone thinking, 'I want to evolve from begging-style sales to true business evaluation and consulting sales,' here are some good books that address the real worries of bank employees.
1) Breaking away from 'begging sales' and getting into the president's inner circle
A practical book for not just selling products, but for drawing out the 'management issues' that local company presidents are truly worried about and presenting solutions.
2) Mastering the skills of 'financial and business evaluation'
A bible for becoming a professional in 'business evaluation'—moving away from old-fashioned lending that relies on 'collateral and guarantors' and instead discerning a company's future potential.
3) How to map out 'your own career' in a shrinking region
A guide for thinking about how to update your 'bank employee skills' and survive in a rapidly changing financial industry, such as with regional bank consolidation and the rise of fintech.
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■ Your 'local-focused negotiation skills and financial knowledge' are a gold mine from the perspective of other industries
Like the protagonist of this article, you get into the good graces of stubborn local company presidents, decipher financial statements to propose funding plans, and sometimes do the gritty work of going around to distribute calendars.
The "overwhelming interpersonal negotiation skills (the grit of grassroots sales)," "basic financial knowledge to read balance sheets," and "strict adherence to compliance" that regional bank employees take for granted every day. Actually, from the perspective of those outside the banking industry, these are the most powerful business skills that people are dying to have.
If you are an active bank employee and feel, "It's exhausting to keep begging people to buy investment trusts and credit cards for the rest of my life," "I want to escape the unreasonable cycle of transfers that make it impossible to commute from my own home," or "I want to do work that truly supports the management of local companies," then taking a peek at the "outside world" is one option.
That "financial knowledge x sales ability" of former regional bank employees is highly valued in roles such as accounting/finance (CFO candidate) for excellent local companies and startups, field sales for SaaS companies, M&A brokerage, and management consulting, and is in high demand.
Even if you don't intend to change jobs immediately, just knowing "what kind of salary and position my gritty sales experience would be valued at in other industries" will surprisingly give you peace of mind in how you face your current quotas at your branch.
If you want to know the realistic trends of the industry or your own appropriate market value, it is recommended that you first consult with a professional at a recruitment agency with a wealth of private job listings. (Consultation is free.)
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[Notice about the magazine]
Thank you for reading to the end!
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