Srinagar, Aug 17 (KNS): J&K Bank today announced 215 percent dividend for shareholders during 86th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held here at its Corporate Headquarters.

MD & CEO Baldev Prakash chaired the AGM - themed ‘Goals Met: Promises Kept’- in presence of Bank’s Directors-on-Board including Principal Secretary to Government (Finance Department) Santosh D Vaidya (IAS) - representing majority share-holder and promoter i.e. J&K UT Government. Couple of Bank’s board-directors joined the meeting through video conferencing.

Besides a large number of valuable shareholders, the meeting was also attended by the Bank’s Executive Director Sudhir Gupta, General Managers, Deputy General Managers, Company Secretary, Chief Financial Officer, other senior officers besides members from media fraternity.

Speaking on the occasion, Principal Secretary Santosh D Vaidya commended all the stakeholders of the Bank for its eventful journey of 86 years. He stated, “From the initial investment of Rs 5 Lacs, which has grown to more than Rs 10000 Cr today, the Bank’s own business has increased to over Rs 2 Lac Cr. While seeing the ups and downs during these 86 years, we have stayed together and increased the value of the Bank. So I take this opportunity to congratulate all the stakeholders, the shareholders and institutional investors.”

While congratulating the entire staff of the Bank for their commitment and dedication in taking the bank to such heights, he also commended the board of directors for their skilful guidance throughout the bank’s journey.

Highlighting that the goodwill and trust earned by the Bank was a remarkable achievement, he said, “Throughout these years we have seen one remarkable achievement, which is the goodwill and trust the bank has earned in J&K. This goodwill and trust are the forte of J&K Bank. And that is what the board of directors and shareholders would like it to preserve in years to come.”

He further said, “This bank has a unique legacy among all banks operating in India. It is an institution which has been promoted by public sector but it is classified as private sector bank. And it has leveraged this unique legacy by working closely with the government on various programmes by extending credit, providing services of disbursing pensions and salaries while working for the welfare of farmers, entrepreneurs and common people in J&K. It has also expanded its geographical footprint with 25 percent of its presence in the rest of country, which is also a remarkable achievement of the Bank.”

On the occasion, he also listed five expectations, which he said, the board of directors and shareholders have from the Bank. “As we cross this milestone of 86 years, we would like the Bank to focus on these areas beginning with customer focus. The Bank needs to be cognizant of the growing choices for its consumers ranging from farmers to entrepreneurs and needs to build on its large consumer base in J&K with better pricing and quality of services to ensure customer satisfaction”, he said.

The other areas he touched upon included regulatory and other capital adequacy compliances, optimization of balance sheet and asset quality along with cost efficiency. On technology front, he said, the bank has done substantially well.

However, he advised the bank to improve upon its fintech capabilities. “The bank should continue to educate its consumers about the secure use of its technology platforms to protect them from cyber and other frauds. Also the upskilling of staff must keep pace with the growing use of its technology platforms”, he further added.

Earlier, the Bank’s MD & CEO Baldev Prakash began his address by extending his heartfelt gratitude to all the shareholders for their unwavering support and trust in the Institution.

Expressing his pleasure to announce 215 pc dividend for the shareholders of the Bank after the outstanding financial results for fiscal 2023-24, MD & CEO Baldev Prakash said, “Following the exceptional results and record-breaking performance in FY 2023-24, I am happy to announce that the Board of Directors of your Bank has recommended a dividend of ?Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel2.15 per equity share for the financial year 2023-24.

“The theme for our Annual Report for this year, ‘Goals Met-Promises Kept’, aptly encapsulates our commitment to deliver on our promises. Our gross revenue has increased by 19% YoY reaching to ?12038 Crores and our net profit grew by 48% YoY, standing at ?1767 Cr, the highest ever in Bank’s history”, he added.

On the occasion, MD & CEO highlighted the special mention of the Bank by the country’s Prime Minister and the Union Finance Minister. He said, “The turnaround story of the Bank has hogged the limelight and was being acknowledged by various players in banking ecosystem in the form of accolades and awards conferred on the Bank. However, the icing on the cake is the special mention and admiration of the Bank’s turnaround and success story by none other than the Honourable Prime Minister during his public address at Srinagar and subsequently in an interview with a prominent media channel .”

“Even the Honourable Finance Minister, in her J&K Budget Speech referred to the Banks turnaround as a success story. The admiration and acknowledgement of this order has highly elevated our brand image and morale on the one hand, but it also comes with added responsibility to ensure that we have to keep this emblem high and flying “, he stated.

Summing up the Bank’s recent performance, MD further added, “This phenomenal growth is a testament to our perseverance, resilience, commitment, ambitious endeavours, and fructification of our well thought out strategies. Concomitantly, we are transforming into an agile, efficient, tech-driven, digitally enabled future-ready Bank to ensure flourishing in the fast changing and highly competitive environment and we are on course towards becoming the bank of choice for every generation.”

Acknowledging that the Bank's success is intertwined with the success of its customers, he said, “We continue to place our customers at the heart of everything we do. This year, we have automated several processes as part of Business Process Re-engineering designed to meet the evolving needs of our diverse customer base. With the evolution of digital stack in banking landscape, the sales aspect of banking operations has undergone revolutionary change. Aligning ourselves to industry trend, our digital platforms have been upgraded to meet diversified customer needs and aspirations, reflecting our commitment to providing convenient and seamless banking solutions.”

Expressing confidence to continue on the path of sustainable growth, he asserted “Despite continued volatility in the global markets, we are confident to navigate upcoming challenges. We are committed to redouble our efforts to continue our growth story and make this institution the bank for all generations.”

Thereafter, the Bank's Company Secretary Mohammad Shafi Mir read out the Auditor’s Report comments of Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), Secretarial Audit Report and provided brief background of each business item to be transacted at the AGM. He further informed that the results of e-voting along with the scrutinizer's report will be available on the websites of the Bank/RTA/Stock Exchanges within two working days from conclusion of the AGM.

Notably, the share-holders hailed Bank’s stellar performance for the financial year 2023-24.
“The Bank’s Board, management and staff have really given a stellar performance and truly deserve our appreciation”, said a group of shareholders at the meeting.

The meeting concluded with a question-answer session, wherein MD & CEO Baldev Prakash along with the directors listened to a range of questions from shareholders and responded in detail to every query. (KNS)