SRINAGAR: The President of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), Javid Ahmed Tenga, has appealed to the Managing Director/CEO of Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Shri Baldev Prakash, to promptly announce the OTS Scheme. KCCI hopes that the scheme will align with the discussions and agreements reached in their recent meeting.
The KCCI is concerned about the significant delay in the bank’s announcement of the OTS Scheme, which is causing distress among borrowers. The KCCI president assured the bank that they would act as a bridge between the bank and the borrowers. Consequently, numerous borrowers have been visiting the KCCI office, expressing their willingness to take advantage of the new OTS Scheme, for which funds have been arranged.
The KCCI reminds the Bank Management of the crucial role played by local people in the bank’s current standing. It is now J&K Bank’s responsibility to support the borrowers who became defaulters due to the consequences of the devastating floods in 2014, the turmoil in 2016, and the subsequent years of the Covid pandemic, events over which they had no control. It is noteworthy that the ratio of non-performing accounts (NPAs) in J&K Bank is quite low in the union territories of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh, indicating the commendable loan repayment culture among local borrowers. The KCCI had constructive meetings with the J&K Bank MD/CEO.
The KCCI believes that announcing the OTS Scheme according to the suggested timeframe and amount will prove mutually beneficial for both the bank and the borrowers.