STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL
FOR INTERNAL information only
NOT FOR GENERAL RELEASE
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
to the
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF
THE BB BANK
1. As in the past, the brief that was given to the Inspectors was simple yet far-ranging, namely, to find out how the different Branches of the BB Bank are performing and to make pertinent Recommendations to assist the Chief Executive in planning for the future. For this reason, all aspects of the operation of all Branches were inspected and a number of interviews were conducted with some Client Businesses and individual end-users of the Bank.
2. The Mission Statement of the BB Bank is known, namely,
“To disburse and invest the BB Bank’s funds with care and responsibility so as to effect the greatest good for the benefit of the greatest number of people, to spread and promote goodness to all.”
Branch Managers are appointed for the sole purpose of carrying out the aims of the Bank and the Inspectors report once again that almost every Manager was aware of the BB Bank’s Mission Statement, at least during the first years of their appointment. The Inspectors found, too, that in those cases where the aims and purposes of the BB Bank were not carried out satisfactorily, it was often the case that that Branch Manager (or his assistants) had been in their position for a considerable time. The Inspectors therefore earnestly recommend that those Branch Managers and Cashiers who have shown that they have forgotten their responsibilities should undergo rigorous retraining.
3. As is known, one of the special strengths of the BB Bank has always been the complete freedom of each Branch to operate how it sees fit. This has meant that investments during the period under review were made in almost any kind of venture purely at the discretion of each Branch Manager. Obviously, frivolous projects are discouraged (and in any case are bound to call into question the sense of judgement of the particular Branch Managers) and it appears that the number of frivolous or wasteful ventures has once again declined.
4. The freedom of operation also permits each Branch Manager to make decisions in all aspects of running his or her Branch, for example, whether it should be run formally, with set office hours and an appointments system, or whether it should be run informally, that is, that Clients can approach the Branch Manager even out of office times and without any appointment. Even though this freedom does mean that Clients and end-users of the BB Bank are often dependent upon the whim of Branch Managers, nevertheless the Inspectors recommend that this freedom of operation should continue for the foreseeable future.
5. Once again, the Inspectors found that during the period under review investments were made in a wide range of projects which included building and construction projects, investment in plant and also in various personnel recruitment and training programmes. Other ventures included programmes to alleviate poverty and the setting-up of new businesses, many of them connected with primary and secondary education. Tertiary education, with grants made to married mature students, also figured prominently this year, the Inspectors report, and this is all very much in line with the wishes of the Chief Executive.
6. Branch Managers of the BB Bank have traditionally been rewarded with quite exceptional commissions as well as very generous expense allowances. Sad to report, this generosity was abused by a minority of the Branch Managers and this gave rise to a number of anomalies and led to some serious and valid complaints from the general public. The Inspectors were also concerned that during the period under review some BB Bank officials awarded themselves very generous pay packages and bonuses even though there was little in the way of sensible or responsible investment spending. Nevertheless and with all that, the Inspectors are of the opinion that the generous packages that have traditionally been awarded to Branch Managers should continue for the foreseeable future. It is felt that the various schemes of corrective measures that are available to the Chief Executive are adequate to keep abuses of the system to a minimum. The Inspectors do, however, earnestly recommend that those particular Branch Managers (see the attached Schedule A) should be put on notice to immediately improve their performance. They recommend further that if they continue to ignore the needs of the Clients and end-users or otherwise treat the funds at their disposal as if they were their own, their commission should be reduced or they should even be relieved of their posts.
7. The Inspectors recommend that periodically all Branch Managers — but especially those of the more prominent Branches and where larger funds are concerned — should be retrained in their responsibilities concerning the funds that they have been entrusted with. Too often, the Inspectors found, such Branch Managers tended to treat the funds they were in charge of as if they were their own personal property when of course they were the property of the BB Bank. This conduct caused considerable public unease and gave rise to much adverse publicity.
8. The Inspectors had the opportunity to observe a sampling of Branch Managers and Cashiers carrying on their business and this proved to be most interesting. While most of the Branch Managers carried out their duties in an exemplary fashion and are highly commended, (see the above-mentioned Schedule A) some Branch Managers, they found, seemed most reluctant to use the funds entrusted to them and even resorted to silly tricks and outright lies in their efforts to avoid disbursing funds to serious and deserving Clients and end-users. (See the attached Schedule B for some samples of common ruses used.) As a result, some opportunities for a number of high-yield investments were sadly missed. It came as a surprise to discover that this sometimes happened even though it could easily be found out (on the Internet, for instance) that in fact certain Branches had very large funds available but that even so those particular Branch Managers declined to assist worthy Clients. Attached to this Report is a Table which lists these Branches, with the names of the Branch Manager, or Cashier, responsible and the funds at their disposal at the time and, for purposes of analysis, the amount offered by the Branch Manager (if any offer was made, that is) as well as what percentage of the funds available this offer represents. (See the attached Table A.) As a result of these disclosures, the Inspectors hereby recommend that in these few instances the Chief Executive should implement some replacement appointments.
9. Finally, despite some calls for the name of the Bank to revert to its original full name, the Inspectors found that most Branch Managers preferred to continue referring to the BB Bank in its modern abbreviated name rather than its original name, the “Big Boss’s Bank.” Likewise, the consensus was that for the sake of the “modern look,” the Bank’s by-line and Trade Mark should continue to appear only on internal correspondence. However, loyal staff of the BB Bank are known to quote that by-line — "כי ממך הכל ומידך נתנו לך" — quite regularly.
K A Tayger
Inspector
Any criticisms of this “Report and Recommendations” or any observations or comments, should in the first instance be sent by e-mail to [email protected] to be forwarded to the Chief Inspector, S A Naygor. Considering the time of year, the deadline is fast approaching, so please respond, positively please, as quickly as possible.
