Sustained growth of J&K Bank

A flagship journey which started on 1 October 1938 with an initial paid-up capital of five lakhs only and the honour of being the oldest private sector bank of India, that’s our Jammu and Kashmir Bank with approximately 1000 Business Units, 1500 ATMs, spread over states and UTs, majority of branches operating in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh with around 150 branches outside. From time to time bank has proved themselves to be the backbone of the state government and simultaneously saviour of the public right from their inception. Practically, in addition to being the official banker of State/UT administration the network of branches and professional approach has made it a favourite of the business class and the majority of Jammu and Kashmir public trust and rely on Jammu and Kashmir Bank. Bank provides investment & stock broking through its wholly owned subsidiary JKB Financial Services Limited (JKBFSL), providing services in stock broking, depository, distribution of mutual funds, IPOs, ETFs, Tax Planning etc. J&K Bank is also a sponsor bank for J&K Grameen Bank, established in 2009, with a shareholding of 35% engaged in providing all kinds of financial services in UT of J&K and Ladakh. Bank has tied up with PNB MetLife, Bajaj Alliance General Insurance Company Limited and IFFCO Tokyo General Insurance Limited for insurance business. Bank faced lots of criticism and suffered losses, financial as well as reputation-wise, due to the unprofessional approach of previous management but for the last few years, the bank is targeting new highs and achieving it with flying colours. Right now the bank has been turned into a full-fledged professional bank keeping every parameter of banking under proper permissible limits set by RBI. From 2019 onwards RTI is also applicable and these measures of transparency and accountability have made the bank achieve the set goals. The last three years have been a swine story and the balance sheet of the bank confirms marvellous growth this year, a 79 per cent growth in the 2022-2023 December quarter as compared to last year and a net profit up of 85 per cent, a staggering 721.05 crores. All these have been possible due to the total professional approach of the present management. Each financial aspect of the bank has seen upward, unprecedented growth all due to dynamic leadership and work culture introduced by the present Chairman cum MD. Performance is the parameter of growth for the staff members and all these positive results are a panacea to the workforce of the bank. Chairman has chosen his team on professional parameters and the track record of the newly appointed ED as Chairman of J&K Grameen Bank is a testimony to this. Chairman and his team have ensured a monthly target of reduction in NPAs and the focused approach has yielded unbelievable results. The hard work of the branch-level staff has implemented meticulous planning and the resultant record growth is the net result. Quarter after the quarter bank is consolidating, and Gross NPA and Net NPA are improving, factually Net NPA is the lowest in the last eight years. Net advances and deposits have grown substantially in both the UTs and rest of India as well.
With a robust recovery achieved, the focus of the bank should be to increase its presence in the rest of India, more branches and a more aggressive approach will increase advances and obviously, net profit will also grow. Least political interferences, no more days of backdoor appointments, the bank is providing excellent opportunities to the youth of Jammu and Kashmir. Updated banking software, proactive policies and most importantly implementing checks and balances to ensure no more swindling via NPAs. Each guideline of RBI is being followed judiciously, and every portfolio of the bank is a transparency yardstick for others now. Congratulations to the team Jammu and Kashmir Bank for the complete transformation, more glorious days of the bank are there in future.