JK Bank share hits 52 week high at Rs 930

J&K Bank share hit a 52 week high today at Rs 930, which is up 3.43 percent. The rise in the share rode upon the optimistic view about the rate cuts announced by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its Annual Monetary Policy 2012-13.

Commenting upon the RBI move, Chairman and CEO J&K Bank Mushtaq Ahmad said, "It is certainly a welcome step from the RBI to ensure more liquidity into the banking system through a repo rate cut. It will help banks like ours, which have immense regional and pan-India lending opportunities."

"We will be happy to pass on the benefit of cut to borrowers. Though seemed temporary, the initiative is an act of re-balancing towards checking inflation. The rate cut scenario will also allow us generate volumes, customer base and remain competitive outside the J&K State."

Meanwhile, Ahmadabad based Broking House Shah Investors Home Ltd (SIHL), which is also a member of National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL), has recommended `Buy` on Jammu & Kashmir Bank with a price target of Rs 1,056 as against the current market price (CMP) of Rs 922 in its report today.

SIHL has enumerated the Bank's undisputed leadership in J&K, business growth to pick up, significant improvement in asset quality, boost in CASA ratio and focus on J&K as strong reasons for their recommendations.

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International Seminar on Tourism Inaugurated

Public Sector Banks Strike on Feb 28

Twenty two Public Sector Banks operational in Jammu and Kashmir are most likely to be closed on February 28, 2012 due to a strike call given by employees’ unions to get their long pending demands addressed.National Confederation of Bank Employees, Deputy General Sectary for J&K state,Mustaq Ahmad Bhat told JK News that it is an all India level strike call to get the genuine demands of the clerical and other lower staff addressed. “Employees of Public Sector Banks here too would observe the strike,” Bhat confirms.

Over one thousand five hundred employees of Public Sector Banks in J&K would go on strike on coming Tuesday. While at all India level more than 8,00,000 employees and officers affiliated with these unions are expected to participate in the strike. Across India there are about 87,000 branches of public sector banks, which control about 75 per cent of banking business.

Bankers expect the strike would several affected the operations of the public sector banks here particularly in the rural areas of the state. “Clearings and other inter banks operations would be hampered because of the strike. Particularly the customers of these banks would be the worst hit in the strike,” Sovais Shafi, an officer in a private sector bank here said.

The banks that would go on strike include: State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Central Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and others.

The strike is against the privatization of Public Sector Banks and reduction of government’s equity in Public Sector Banks. “Against allowing unrestricted entry of foreign capital in banking sector, issuance of licenses to industrial houses to start their own banks,” Bhat said.

While stressing on the two demands Bhat said that employees of the banks demand implementation of uniform scheme for house building loan, vehicles loan, and festival advances to all bank staff. “Implementation of 5 days banking,” Bhat added.

The bank employees are also demand to scarp Khandelwal Committee recommendations.The committee had suggested a slew of measures, including outsourcing more and more non-core activities in a time-bound manner. The panel had also recommended raising the standard of recruitment, including the methodology and content for tests, besides making the testing of computer skills mandatory for both officers and clerks.“Seven bank unions of nine have given strike call for stringent and effective measures to recover bad loans of banks and unilateral imposition of Khandelwal committee recommendations," All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C H Venkatachalam on record has said.

World Tourism Day in jammu kashmir ladakh
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JKGB organises awareness programme

The J&K Grameen Bank (JKGB) today organised an awareness programme on Financial Inclusion at village Tarah in Dansal block here.

M K Vij, General Manager of JKGB was the chief guest who impressed upon the public to come forward to open the no frill accounts and also emphasised on various benefits by availing credit schemes of the bank to the public.

Vikram, Manager from Reserve Bank of India highlighted the role of RBI in facilitating the process of Financial Inclusion programme.

Virender Kotwal, Area Manager of JKGB informed the gathering that the bank has tied up with Bajaj Allianz and Metlife for life insurance besides devising the products which are being easily affordable to rural masses.

R P Sharma, Senior Manager, MF&FI of JKGB apprised the gathering about the various lending schemes of the bank.

Sanction letters of loan cases in the diversified activities amounting to ` 80 lakh were also disbursed on spot.

H L Kar, Branch Manager, Jhajjar Kotli, presented the vote of thanks.

The camp was organised with the support and financial assistance of NABARD.

SBI organises training course

 A Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Repair Course with Entrepreneur Development Programme organized by State Bank of India Rural Self Employment Training Institute (SBI-RSETI) in collaboration with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) concluded at Bantalab, here in which unemployed youth from rural areas of Jammu district participated.

K.K.Sharma, Director of the Institute, maintained that opportunities in wage employment are bleak and Governemt is providing many facilities to the person who adopts for self employment, so one should go for self employment. He further added that SBI RSETI which is aimed at skill building of prospective small entrepreneurs / borrowers specially for rural youth.

Recruitment of local staff in PNB jammu

The All India Punjab and National Bank Officers Federation (AIPNBOF) has demanded that local staff should be recruited in the P&NB branches of the state as absence of local staff is seriously hampering the growth of bank in Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing a press conference after the office bearers meeting here today, T. R Verma, general secretary, AIPNBOF said that manpower planning has taken a severe beating since the locals are not staffed in the PNB branches in the State. He said that retention policy of PNB employees of outside states in Jammu and Kashmir should be banished at the earliest.

"There is acute shortage of staff in the branches and special recruitment of officers and workmen staff in Jammu and Kashmir needs to be carried out. The drive should be initiated at the earliest so that like other parts of country PNB achieves progress and growth in this state," said Verma.

Verma said that special drive can help in tiding over the crisis on account of unemployment of educated youth. He said the Association would leave no stone unturned in approaching the higher ups of the bank so that direct recruitment is carried out in the state. He said there should be regulated banking hours for all the employees of public sector banks irrespective of their cadre and designation. He said that public sector banks should be allowed to observe five day week, adding that pay disparity between PNB and State Bank of India (SBI) employees should be removed.

Dr. Kumar Arbind, President AIPNBOF said that Khandelwal Committee recommendations are anti-employee and demanded that the recommendations should be out-rightly rejected by the Central Government.

"The Khandelwal Committee recommendations are anti-employee, anti-officer and anti-trade unions. It is an attempt to scuttle collective bargaining and in one voice we reject it. We would hold a dharna before Parliament on December 14 and will project our demands" said Dr. Arbind.

J&K Bank Bengal Tools ink pact

Committed to boost agriculture in the J&K state by making organized finance facility with superior features available to the famers, J&K Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bengal Tools Ltd. (BTL), a Shrachi Group company engaged in manufacturing of power tillers, reapers and power weeders, here at Bank’s Corporate Headquarters  today.

R K Shah, BanK’s Vice-President for Strategy & Business Development signed the agreement on behalf of the J&K Bank while A K Tomer, Chief Operating Officer (Marketing) put in his signatures on behalf of the BTL, in presence of Tafazal Hussain, Bank’s President.

In his address, Tafazal Hussain described the pact as a step towards modernizing the farming in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. “J&K Bank, sticking to its tradition and commitment, has entered into this tie-up to boost farm mechanisation and provide hasle-free and viable financial assistance to the people directly associated with the agriculture sector”, he said.

Emphasizing on the need to apprise the farmers about the advantages of using these state-of-the-art machines, Tafazal said, “The purpose of the tie-up will be served only when you have an informed farming community eager to adopt technology and well aware about its efficiency and potential to enhance productivity”. He stated that awareness camps shall be jointly organized at major rural centres in this regard.

R.K Shah hoped that the pact would help the Bank reach aspiring farmers across the state. “J&K Bank would be extending finance to these agriculture equipments under JK Bank Kisan Dost Finance, a highly customized and hasle-free product”, Shah said.

A K Tomer expressed hope that the vast network and wide reach of J&K Bank will ensure these farmer-friendly products reach farming community across the state and help them enhance productivity. “The tie-up with J&K Bank was preceded by a thorough reasearch on J&K state, its financial landscape and its agrarian potential with special reference to viability factor”, he said.