A Tribute to Uncommon Banker Anjan Barua: Life, Career & Achievements

Banker Anjan Barua Died: Anjan Barua passed away in the early hours of the 22nd May 2021 in Guwahati, succumbing to post Covid complications.

The news of his passing spread rapidly to cast a long shadow of sadness across the State Bank community in the North Eastern region. Soon enough calls, messages and social media posts began appearing in various groups and from individuals across the country – from SBI officials and from many others connected with the banking/financial sector. Such was the extent of the affection and respect that Barua commanded within this fraternity.

Who Is Anjan Barua?

Anjan Barua, son of eminent parliamentarian of Assam, Hem Barua, joined SBI in 1973 after completing his education from Delhi – St. Columba's School, St. Stephen's College, Delhi University. Navigating through a number of challenging assignments across the country and abroad, including a stint as a Forex Dealer in SBI's Frankfurt office, he retired from the Bank in 2012 in the rank of a Dy. Managing Director – his last assignment being the Head of the Global Markets vertical of SBI.

Career of Anjan Barua

As the Head of Global Markets, Barua's responsibilities included providing vision and direction for the treasury function of the Bank, ensuring liquidity for the Bank's operations and meeting various obligations to its clientele, appropriate risk management measures at protecting the Bank's investments against market fluctuations/volatilities, complying with regulatory requirements, etc. In addition to this, SBI being a significant player in the money/forex markets in the country, decisions taken by Shri Barua had systemic implications for maintaining stability in these markets. The role of Global Markets as a profit centre also had a significant bearing on the bottom line of the Bank, especially during periods of financial turmoil and credit defaults.

Work & Achievement of Anjan Barua

It was sometime during his tenure in this assignment that the financial markets caught the fancy for complex and exotic structured derivatives products - products meant to hedge risks arising out of a customer's usual business operations and financial transactions. Certain sections of the market players were aggressively marketing these products as investment opportunities to cash-rich corporates, which may not have had a clear understanding of the risks and implications of entering into such trades. The lure of huge financial gains enticed a lot of customers to enter this space. Such forays into these products were mostly speculative in nature and highly risky. The global financial meltdown during 2007-08 severely impacted these "investments" ending with the customers incurring heavy losses. These structured products also came to be known as "Weapons of Mass Destruction" because of this very reason.

His years of experience, professional skills and an in-depth understanding of the markets, alerted Barua to realise that something was not quite right. Such high profit margins did not happen usually. To his credit, due to the rare intuitive 'sixth sense' that he possessed, he saw through the game and refused to be lured into such deals. His prime concerns were always the interest of the customer and, of course, the Bank's good name and reputation. This speaks volumes about the man's integrity and character.

The global financial crisis of 2007-08 (sub-prime crisis) and its aftermath was another challenging period during Shri Barua's tenure at the helm of affairs – he steered the treasury with great skill, dedication and foresight during this troubled period. He displayed nerves of steel in the face of volatile and uncertain markets, and took decisions that protected the Bank. These decisions also had a soothing effect on a systemic level. He correctly anticipated a liquidity crunch and made sure that that the liquidity position of SBI remained stable and comfortable. This was a very significant move not only from State Bank's point of view, but systemically as well, as during that period, SBI's volumes constituted a significant part of the Rupee market (money market/G-secs). The stable liquidity position of SBI afforded financial stability across the system as a whole.

No wonder then, many of his colleagues who worked with him during the period would like to remember him as "the unsung hero" who steered the markets and afforded stability during these stormy days.

To say the least, Anjan Barua was highly skilled and knowledgeable about the intricacies of treasury operations; but what set him apart was his dependence on common sense and an innate intuitive ability – he could spot opportunities as they arose; he could also sense trouble lurking around the corner !

For all the people who worked with Anjan Barua, or even crossed his path in a casual encounter, he was first, a gentleman to the core.

Almost immediately after the news of his death, there was an outpouring of emotions and sentiments from all quarters of the North-Eastern region (his parent Circle in SBI) extolling the virtues of the man as a human being. In all these expressions, Anjan Barua's qualities as a banker of "Uncommon Talent" were taken as a given; additionally what came through were facets of his personality that touched everyone he came across deep inside. Such was the power of his goodness.

A couple of days after his death, the treasury group of officials within SBI (including many who are indifferent organisations now, but who worked with Barua in SBI at some point or the other, senior or junior) organised a Google Meet to condole his demise, and to offer tributes to him for one last time. There were about a hundred people who participated in the meet online. Everyone took the trouble to 'log in' and share with one another their grief and remembrances of 'Barua Sir'. Everyone talked about his connect with people. The mind-space that Anjan Barua occupied amongst people who worked with him ran deep.... very deep.

Heart to heart, soul to soul, a good connection you make, lives forever. Anjan Barua will live amongst us all in SBI – as a mentor, teacher, colleague, a friend – and above all, a banker with "uncommon talent". We will miss you.

Rest in Peace.

Also Read: A Tribute to Dr. Bipul Chandra Deb

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