SRINAGAR: The Federation of Chambers of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) on Thursday congratulated Jammu and Kashmir Bank for posting its highest-ever annual profit of Rs 2,363.47 crore for the financial year 2025–26, while urging the Bank to strengthen its commitment towards the economic interests of the region.
In a statement, FCIK said the Bank’s strong financial performance, marked by growth in business, deposits, advances and improved asset quality, reflected sound management, operational discipline and institutional resilience.
The Chamber complimented the Bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Amitava Chatterjee, the Board of Directors and the staff for delivering record profits year after year.
At the same time, FCIK said the Bank’s success was deeply rooted in the trust and economic participation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Chamber observed that households, salaried employees, traders, businesses and institutions across the region had, over decades, provided JK Bank with a stable and low-cost deposit base, reflected in one of the strongest CASA profiles in the country.
“On the credit side too, the overwhelming part of the Bank’s earnings has historically come from borrowers within the region, from salaried employees to traders, growers and MSMEs, whose borrowings are largely secured by tangible collateral,” FCIK said, adding that borrowers in Jammu and Kashmir had also paid relatively higher interest rates than similarly placed borrowers elsewhere in the country.
While sharing pride in the Bank’s historic performance, the Chamber said the achievement had been built substantially on the resilience and sacrifices of the people and business community of Jammu and Kashmir, who continued to face prolonged disturbances, market disruptions, natural calamities and other external shocks.
In this backdrop, FCIK urged the Bank to “give the region its due” by preserving and deepening its long-standing relationship with local depositors and borrowers at a time when competing banks were aggressively seeking to capture the customer base nurtured by JK Bank over decades.
The Chamber said the most meaningful immediate step would be the announcement of a Special One-Time Settlement (OTS) policy for borrowers whose accounts had turned stressed due to circumstances beyond their control, including prolonged shutdowns, natural disasters, policy disruptions and delayed payments.
“Till such a policy is rolled out, all coercive actions may, as a gesture of goodwill, be kept in abeyance,” FCIK requested, adding that such a move would demonstrate the Bank’s commitment towards rehabilitation alongside profitability.
FCIK also called upon the Bank to use its strong financial position to enhance support for productive sectors in the region by ensuring effective implementation of Government of India and Reserve Bank of India guidelines on MSME restructuring and NPA classification.
The Chamber sought stronger credit flow to MSMEs and priority sectors, particularly in industrial estates and districts with weak credit-deposit ratios, besides wider implementation of collateral-free lending schemes such as CGTMSE, Mudra Yojana, PMEGP and Stand-Up India.
It further demanded simpler loan procedures, time-bound approvals, region-sensitive financial products for handicrafts, tourism and seasonal enterprises, rationalisation of MSME interest rates in line with national benchmarks, and a rehabilitation-oriented approach towards stressed MSME accounts.
FCIK also stressed the need for regular institutional engagement between the Bank and industry bodies, including FCIK, to address sector-specific concerns through timely policy interventions.
“The rise of JK Bank has always been intertwined with the economic aspirations of Jammu & Kashmir. The region stood firmly with the Bank in difficult times. At this moment of historic profitability, the expectation is simple and legitimate — that the Bank must stand equally firmly with the region, particularly with its stressed business community,” the statement added.
The Chamber reiterated that it considered itself a partner in the growth journey of JK Bank and expressed hope that the Bank’s present financial strength would translate into greater sensitivity, enhanced credit support and meaningful relief for the people and enterprises of Jammu and Kashmir.
