Jammu & Kashmir Bank

Jammu & Kashmir Bank Limited (J&K Bank) is an Indian private sector bank headquartered in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. J&K Bank was incorporated on 1 October 1938, by the then ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh with an initial paid up capital of ₹5.00 Lakh. There is some debate about whether the Maharaja referred to his personal treasury as the bank during its inception. The bank registered a total business turnover of over ₹1750 billion as of 31 March 2021.

History
J&K Bank was founded on 1 October 1938, under letters patent issued by the then Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh.

Maharaja of Parmar Rajputs was invited as an investor by Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh to become founding director and shareholders of the bank.

The bank commenced banking business on 4 July 1939 and was considered the first of its nature and composition as a state-owned bank in the country. The bank was established as a semi-state bank with participation in capital by state and the public under the control of state government.

After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948, the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was divided and two branches of the bank out of the then 10 branches viz. Muzaffarabad Rawalkot and Mirpur (now PAK) fell to the other side of the Line of Control along with cash and other assets.

The bank is defined as a government company under the Indian Companies Act, 2013. In 1971, the bank acquired the status of a scheduled bank and was declared an ‘A’ class bank by Reserve Bank of India in 1976.

Milestones
The bank celebrated its platinum jubilee in 2013. In that year, the bank achieved a total business of ₹1000 billion and earned a net profit of ₹10 billion.

On 1 October 2018, the bank completed its 80 years of existence and a campaign under the theme “80 years of bonding – I pledge to strengthen it” was launched.

On 1 July 2019, the bank surpassed a deposit base of ₹1000 billion with over 10 million customers.

In July 2020, the bank ranked within the top four financial institutions in India for successfully meeting digital payment targets under the ‘Digital India’ mission.

Network
As of 3 June 2024, the bank maintains a network of 2400 touch points - 1001 branches and 1388 ATMs, distributed across 18 states and 4 Union Territories. 804 of the branches are in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and 36 are in the Union Territory of Ladakh.

Within the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh, the bank also operates a total of 75 Easy Banking Units (EBUs). 35 of these EBUs are situated in the Union Territory of Ladakh, while the rest operate in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.

Subsidiaries
J&K Bank provides investment & stock broking through its wholly owned subsidiary JKB Financial Services Limited (JKBFSL). It has 12 branches (5 Branches in Kashmir, 6 Branches in Jammu and 1 Branch in Gurgaon) besides having sales desks at 61 J&K Bank branches across the Union Territory of J&K.

Associate Bank
J&K Bank serves as the sponsoring bank for J&K Grameen Bank, holding a substantial 35% equity share. J&K Grameen Bank focuses on delivering a comprehensive range of financial services within the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. Commencing operations on 30 June 2009, the associate bank operates across 11 districts in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, in addition to 2 districts within the Union Territory of Ladakh.

Tie-ups
The bank partners with various national as well as multinational companies to promote and operate its financial services. Under Bancassurance, the bank collaborates with PNB Metlife to offer life insurance products, and joined forces with Bajaj Allianz and IFFCO Tokio to provide non-life insurance solutions. The bank also established partnerships with Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki to market and offer its financial services.

Bank has also signed corporate agency agreement with LIC through which bank will service and solicit LIC’s life insurance products through its branch network.

Corruption allegations
J&K Bank has faced repeated accusations of lacking transparency and accountability. In 2019, the Anti-Corruption Bureau launched investigations into alleged corrupt practices by a number of bank officials, including former bank chairpersons Parvaiz Ahmad Nengroo and Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh. Starting 2011, the accused allegedly installed over "2,500 backdoor appointments".

In August 2020, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claimed that the son of former Jammu and Kashmir finance minister Abdul Rahim Rather, Hilal Rather, used money loaned from J&K Bank "to splurge on foreign tours and acquire personal assets in India, Dubai and the US." In relation to this, authorities conducted search operations at various sites in Srinagar, Jammu, Delhi and Punjab.