Banking Operations and Branch Management
Banking Operations and Branch Management tests how a branch runs day-to-day: cash, clearing, account servicing, controls and customer protection. The exam favours process questions - who authorises what, which register is updated, and what SBP requires.
Core controls
- Dual control over cash, vault keys, blank instruments and security stationery; no single person should control both combination and key.
- Teller cash limits: each teller keeps a fixed float; excess is surrendered to the vault; differences are recorded in the cash-difference register and reported.
- Account opening requires CDD/KYC, verification of CNIC, risk profiling, and proper signature cards; dormant and unclaimed accounts follow SBP reactivation and reporting rules.
- Clearing through NIFT: outward returns must be handled within cut-off times; stop payments, liens and holds need written authority and system flags.
- Branch reconciliation: ATM cash, inter-branch accounts, suspense accounts and fee income are reconciled daily; unreconciled items are escalated, not netted.
Worked example
A teller’s drawer is short by PKR 2,500 at close. The teller recounts, checks all vouchers and the system till report, and informs the operations manager. Under dual control, the vault and drawer are re-verified, the difference is entered in the cash-difference register, and the cause is traced - a mis-keyed utility bill payment. The correction is made by reversing the wrong entry with approval, not by adjusting cash. If the shortage remains, recovery follows HR policy and the incident is reported.
Traps
- Allowing one officer to hold vault keys and the combination.
- Adjusting a shortage by borrowing from another teller’s drawer.
- Releasing a hold or stop payment on a phone instruction without written confirmation.
- Treating customer complaints as branch-level only; SBP requires logging and timely redressal.