It is barely lunchtime and six students from Rawafed Private School have already watched millions of dirhams flash before their eyes.

For the past few months, Emirates NBD has been inviting a handful of prospective university students to its branches to spend a few hours getting to know what it takes to work in a bank.

The drive is among Emirates NBD's most successful corporate social responsibility programmes, and one method of bolstering the bank's public image at a time when the industry's reputation is in the doldrums.

Nada Abboud, one of the final-year students taking part, used to think banking was a dusty, boring industry, but was surprised at the bank's procedures.

"We thought it would be really simple, entering basic information over and over," she says. "You appreciate that their job isn't as easy as you'd think."

The students said they were impressed by the meticulousness of the bank's checks and balances to prevent mistakes or fraud.

Emirates NBD's idea is to help students decide whether a career in banking is right for them and to teach them financial literacy, says Moaza Al Marri, the senior marketing manager for events at Emirates NBD.

A key role is changing perceptions about what banks are there for.

"We choose this age specifically … most of them are university age, and most of them say we're here to learn about banking and to imagine what life would be like in a role like this," says Ms Al Marri.

An essay competition, with a top prize of Dh10,000 (US$2,722) to fund students's university studies, provides a compelling incentive for them to take part. All students involved in Emirates NBD's "banker-for-a-day programme" can enter the competition.

Having originally considered awarding a plaque to the winning student, the bank decided it would help more by encouraging students to pursue their university studies.

"The reason we've done the cash is to give an incentive," Ms Al Marri says.

The bank also creates an emotional bond with the student, which has a lasting benefit, she adds.

Rebuilding public trust is being viewed as vital by the financial services industry.

Whether it is the Occupy Wall Street movement decrying the role of banks in the global economic downturn or regulators issuing record fines for mis-selling financial products and insider trading, lenders' reputations have been battered by the financial crisis.

Banks face an uphill battle in their public perceptions, says John Hobday, a senior managing director at FTI Consulting, who has specialised in putting out public relations firestorms at companies such as Dubai World during the conglomerate's $25bn restructuring. "When you deal with millions of customers, especially with things like money, mortgages and so on, it's very difficult to keep everyone happy," he says.

For banks experiencing public criticism, the most important thing is to stand out from the crowd.

"If there appears to be an assumption that a country's banks are in trouble, you want to say we're here and we have a distinct reputation, a distinct relationship with our shareholders," says Mr Hobday. "In a small market like this, there will be contagion from what others do."

Emirates NBD is hardly free from negative publicity, with problem loans to Dubai Government-related holding companies creating headlines for the UAE's biggest bank.

Part of the value of bringing students into Emirates NBD is to repair some of this damage, Ms Al Marri says.

"Cash is the easiest thing that you can give back, but investing time, effort and developing students to become something, that's more," she says.