‘People Face Cash Crunch But JK Bank Has Surplus Liquidity To Reboot Economy’

The Legitimate                                  JK Bank
COVID 19 has played havoc both in terms of the lives and economies of the world. Hundreds and thousands of people worldwide have lost their jobs and all the major industries of the world are hit hard and struggling to survive amid an ongoing pandemic.

 Talking about the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, the situation is even worse as compared to other parts of the world because of the two progressive lockdowns since August 05, 2019, when the special status of the erstwhile state of J&K was revoked by the central government. The business fraternity claims alone Kashmir valley suffered losses worth 5 billion US dollars till July this year and the entire Union Territory must have incurred losses over 10 billion dollars due to two consecutive lockdowns.

JK Bank being the main financial sector of UT has a crucial role to revive the economic sector of UT.  Asem Mohiuddin, editor-in-Chief, The Legitimate talks exclusively to the chairman of the bank Rajesh Kumar Chibber and understand how the institution is going to intervene at this crucial juncture to uplift the failing economy.

TL: COVID-19 has wreaked havoc to all the business industries of the world; every institution is striving to survive one way or the other. What is the current position of J&K Bank amid ongoing COVID-19?

 RKC: COVID-19 is a huge challenge for the world. It has affected almost all the business sectors. In J&K UT the situation is not different and every sector seems to have been affected by the COVID-19. JK bank, from the inception of COVID-19, has faced the challenge proactively. All our business units including ATMs and other digital channels have effectively followed SOPs and maintained the protocol effectively to work for its people without letting them to suffer. Our JK Bank family that comprises 12000 members did everything they could do to serve the people of UT and I am proud of my family.

TL: Was there any impact of COVID-19 on JK Bank’s financial health?

 RKC:  See, to be very frank, like any other industry in the UT, JK Bank is also doing business. The only difference is that JK Bank’s survival is based on other business establishments of the UT and elsewhere in India. But JK Bank as an institution has more responsibilities. During such unfortunate times, we have implemented lots of schemes for all the major business sectors of the UT that included shopkeepers, transport sector, private institutions, tourism, and many other institutions. Under the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme, Government of India has given the package of Rs 3 lakh crores and we have implemented that scheme in JK.

I feel proud to share with you that under the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme we have disbursed more than 1500 crores as a loan to the general masses and out of Rs 1500  crores, Rs 1300 crores has been disbursed in the UT of J&K only. That means we are one step ahead in laying a helping hand to the general public.

Apart from this, there were some of our business partners, who were not included in the said scheme, JK Bank didn’t leave them behind and formulated a flexible scheme called Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL) that included tourism, hotels and private schools as well.

Talking about private schools only, we have disbursed around Rs 5 crores so far through various JK Bank branches. We are flexible and open for more financial assistance depending on the size and structure of organization.

TL: There has been very little business activity in J&K due to two back to back lockdowns. There is a liquidity crisis among the general masses. How JK Bank as a crucial financial sector of Jammu & Kashmir is contributing to boost the economy?

RKC:  I agree with the fact that there is a liquidity crisis among the public. JK Bank as an institution has surplus liquidity and that’s how we are liberally contributing and financing various sectors be it the business community, agricultural community, horticulture community, and other units as well. You will be amazed that we have even disbursed around Rs 5500 crores in the Kisan Credit Card scheme.

Through your medium, I want to share with my staff and public that people can avail a loan of Rs 1 lakh 60 thousand without any guarantor. We are always there for the support of people. In case they face any difficulty they can approach the immediate higher office at the zone or cluster level. And I assure you action will be taken against the erring officials.

TL: Talking about the ‘Guarantee’ when it comes to loan, the situation is contrary on the ground. Why are people asked to have a Govt. employee guarantor when that is not even under the regulations of RBI? 

RKC:   I agree that such incidents have happened in the past that some of our officials at banks have been demanding and accepting guarantees from government employees only for loans. But when it came to my notice I immediately reacted and even suspended few employees for the same reasons. At present, there is no such situation. But let me clear it here. Only one member in a family can avail KCC loan facility. There are some families who approach the bank for the facility with different names in the same family and later accuse that they have been denied loans.

Meanwhile, we have formulated strict rules and we are continuously monitoring everything related to the issue. I appeal people to contact us if anybody seeks a guarantee of government employees only. We are here not only to resolve the issue but also to take punitive action against the said officials.

TL: What is the roadmap of JK Bank to revive the economy of JK?

 RKC:  As I have said earlier we are doing business like any other institution. But the difference is that there are lots of regulators and parameters on me. And I am bound to work within those parameters. Within such boundaries, we have formulated numerous schemes for the support of the public, industries, and other private institutions. All the schemes are formulated for the upliftment of J&K UT’s economy. With day to day changes and happenings in the society we also evolve and revise our schemes so as to suit best for our people and thus help in rebooting the economy.

TL: JK Govt. recently formulated a committee for the economic revival. Since you are also a member of the committee what can be expected in the report? 

RKC: Since the committee was formulated, we have conducted lots of meetings both in Jammu and Kashmir divisions, separately. The process is on and there are few more upcoming meetings as well. We are also collecting and compiling the feedback and within days a roadmap will be formulated and submitted to the government. But let me tell you, we will be a step ahead in recommending suggestions to the government for the welfare of people that they may have never expected.

TL: The business fraternity is estimating losses more than Rs 40000 crores following the two lockdowns since August 5, 2019. What according to you is the exact figure? 

RKC: I can’t comment over that because there is no credible and authentic figure available. People are guessing in their own capacity. But whatever be the figure, JK Bank will try to compensate for the loss that is in our capacity. We also try to get figures from various forums and whatever is possible in our domain we will surely try to deliver on that. We all have the same agenda even the Lt. Governor is also working towards the economic revival of J&K.

TL:  You said JK Bank is open for loans yet there are complaints that the Over Draft department has been shut down?

RKC:  No, these are merely false claims. OD is always functional. Show me any order or circular I have issued and asked my officials to stop OD. The Bank is trying to do whatever is possible to help our people. These are all false allegations, I repeat.

TL: You are going to generate an amount of Rs 45 hundred crores. What is its need?

 RKC: Yeah, it is a regular requirement and as per the RBI guidelines we are required to have a minimum capital requirement. We are foreseeing a situation in view of COVID19 which may prolong. The amount is being generated as per regulations to expand the business growth.

 TL: There has been restructuring in JK Bank’s hierarchy from the past few years. In your opinion what are the changes it has brought?

RKC: Since last year there have been lots of positive changes in the JK Bank system. One of the important things that happened is the Right To Information (RTI) that was implemented in June 2019. Initially, people were denied of seeking information from the bank. Now people possess this and any one can avail of the information in the public interests. But the Act cannot be used for personal grudges.
We also implemented the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) so as to maintain transparency in the system. Some of the zones were merged for showing losses in an order to ensure that the Bank’s profitability is not affected.

TL:  After the restructuring of JK Bank, the people of UT were promised that major recruitment drives would be taking place?

RKC: JK Bank is one of the largest employment providers in the banking sector of the country. We have recently advertised 1850 posts of banking associates and due to COVID-19, the recruitment process was put on halt. Once the normalcy resumes, the process will begin and on a fast track basis, the vacancies will be filled.