J&K Bank should look beyond Indian shores: Omar

Pitching for outlining a vision for Jammu and Kashmir Bank in the next 25 years, state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said it should look beyond the Indian shores to have a global presence.

"I hope over the course of next few months, J&K Bank family will roll out for itself a vision - what the next 25 years look like - I assure you as long as I am here, I will support you," Omar said.

He was speaking at the platinum jubilee celebrations of the bank here last night, in which state Governor N N Vohra was the chief guest.

The bank needs to outline a vision how it will be like on its 100th anniversary and then work towards that goal, he said.

Abdullah said there is a need to identify and fix short-term goals including lending support to agriculture, entrepreneurs, small farmers, traders, artisans and young persons.

He expressed confidence that the bank will 'definitely' focus on those goals and work towards meeting its targets in corporate social responsibilities while maintaining its credit/deposits ratio.

"But above all, the most important thing is where we want to see J&K Bank in terms of national footprint. Where J&K bank will see in terms of its international footprint," he said.

Omar said he agreed with the views of Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram earlier at the event that J&K Bank now needs to look beyond the borders of India and expand operations overseas.