Chirag Madaan, a 24-year-old former banker and IIT graduate, has opened up about why he left his Rs 17 lakh per annum banking job, citing what he described as a 'toxic' work culture and pressure to push costly financial products.

In a viral Instagram Reel, Madaan alleged that bank employees are expected to sell trading apps priced as high as Rs 10,000 annually, even when alternatives like Zerodha and Groww are available for free and perform well.

'Zerodha and Grow are performing really really well. So, why would a customer prefer a bank trading app at a Rs 10,000 a year cost? Why? I mean, I won't even recommend that to my father,' he said in the video.

Madaan said he could not convince himself that the banking apps were genuinely better, making it difficult for him to recommend them honestly to clients.

Mis-Selling Concerns

He also recounted an incident involving an ultra-HNI client who sought a portfolio review. The client had been advised to invest in liquid fund plans by a previous representative of the same bank, but the returns were lower than those of a basic fixed deposit.

"Even after having so much financial illiteracy in the market, we bankers are so pressurised that we were forced to mis-sell," he said.

Madaan added that he was unable to openly tell the client that the earlier recommendation was flawed, placing him in a difficult professional position.

Long Hours, High Pressure

Beyond product-selling concerns, Madaan described a demanding work environment where standard working hours extended from 9-to-5 to 9-to-7, and a five-day work week often became six days. Lunch breaks, he said, were reduced to just 15 minutes.

Employees were expected to generate business worth Rs 10 crore each month. Those who failed to meet targets faced pressure from branch managers and wealth managers and were required to start afresh the following month.