Big bank culture or bad manager?

I joined a big bank about 1.5 months ago and I’m trying to understand whether what I’m experiencing is just normal culture in banking/finance or if this is genuinely a bad management situation.

I work as a software developer, my manager is Indian, and most of the people under him are also Indian employees on visas. From what I’ve observed, people seem very hesitant to push back or say no because of job security concerns, which may have created an environment where the manager expects constant availability.

He micromanages heavily, constantly checks in, and regularly assigns work late in the day expecting it to be completed after hours.

The first time it happened, I stayed late and finished the work. The second time, I made an excuse. The third time, he gave me a task around 4:30 PM and I told him I’d look into it tomorrow because I had to walk my dog. He asked if I could do it afterward. I said I’d see.

Later he messaged me saying that “from time to time we need to work after hours.” I responded professionally saying I’m willing to help when needed, but I need advance notice for after-hours work and I’m trying to maintain reasonable boundaries.

I also spoke with a mentor internally and they told me this manager has a reputation for being extremely demanding and not handling “no” well. Apparently this is not a temporary thing.

The bigger issue is the constant anxiety this is causing me. I feel permanently on edge, like I can never fully disconnect. Even after work I’m worried I’ll get pinged with another “urgent” task late in the evening. The micromanagement and lack of boundaries are starting to affect my mental health and honestly making me less productive overall.I’m not looking for “quiet quitting” or anti-work perspectives. I work hard, I understand demanding jobs come with pressure, and I know banking isn’t a strict 9-5. I want to hear from people who work in high-performance environments, especially tech in big bank.

My questions are:

• Is this level of after-hours expectation normal at big banks?
• Is this just part of corporate banking culture early in your career?
• I’ve tried to professionally set boundaries, but they don’t seem to be getting respected, and I’m not sure how to handle it going forward.
• How do you tell the difference between a demanding manager and an unhealthy one?

Would appreciate advice from people who’ve dealt with similar situations.