FDI in J&K Bank touches 37%

Foreign investment in the Jammu and Kashmir Bank has touched 37 per cent, an all time high.

J&K Bank Chairman Haseeb Drabu, who is also economic advisor to the J&K government, said this was for the first time in the 69 years' history of the bank that it had received such a massive flow of money from foreign investors.

He said foreign investment was pouring in from countries like the US, Canada, the UK, Japan, Norway, Mexico and some West Asian countries.

In response to a question, the chairman said investors from outside were preferring J&K Bank because they were sure that the bank was fully stabilised and their investments were safe.

He said that with a view to benefit the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the bank had changed the previous practice of raising money from the state and lending it outside.

Earlier, the bank used to lend 70 per cent finances outside the state and 30 per cent in J&K. Now the ratio is 55: 44, lending 55 per cent finances in the state and only 45 per cent outside, Drabu added.

The chairman said massive investment from outside coupled with lending more money in the state had increased profits of the JKBL four-fold within two-and-a-half year. The profits of the bank were Rs 100 crore during 2004-005, Rs 190 crore in 2005-006 and Rs 280 crore in 2006-07. The bank is now all set to cross Rs 400-crore mark.

Non-performing assets (NPA) of the bank had also gone down considerably. Out of Rs 22,000 crore worth advances of the bank, only Rs 400 crore were non-performing. Out of the Rs 400 crore of NPA, Rs 360 cr was fully protected with guarantee of assets, Drabu said.