J&K Bank sets business target of Rs 85,000 cr in FY12

J&K Bank has set a target of Rs 85,000 crore business during the current financial year, with special efforts to improve its growth and rural penetration by working on a multi-pronged strategy.

The emphasis on massive financial inclusion, network expansion, renewed focus on streamlining priority sector lending and to improve the key financial ratios are going to be the main thrust areas of the bank to surpass an ambitious business figure of Rs 85,000 crore this fiscal, J&K Bank chairman Mushtaq Ahmad said at a high level business conference.

The meeting, which was attended by all zonal heads of the bank across the country, deliberated about the bank's outlook and finalised the business plan for the FY12, a bank spokesperson said.

Embarking on the bank's vision, the plan envisages a deposit target of around Rs 53,000 crore, up by nearly 22 per cent as compared with an average 11.5 per cent growth during the previous two years, the spokesperson said. According to him, advances have been projected at around Rs 32,000 crore, with growth rate of 27 per cent against the average of 16.5 per cent for the previous two years.

The credit-deposit ratio has been placed at 64 per cent as against 60 per cent during the previous year.

Eyeing a business of Rs 1,00,000 crore and a net profit of over Rs 1,000 crore by March 31, 2013, coinciding with its Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the bank has planned major projects to shore up among other things, non-interest income, ensure higher levels of operational efficiency by improving employee output, controlling costs and preventing revenue leakages.

Stressing on the need to bring unbanked and under serviced areas within the ambit of banking on modern lines, the chairman announced that the Bank shall adopt 903 villages under its Financial Inclusion campaign. Apart from improving the Bank's technology enabled services, he revealed plans to increase branch and ATM network of the Bank to 600 each.

The fresh initiatives in marketing, as emphasised in the Biz Plan, include mobilisation of business from NRIs hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, increasing credit card base, introduction of speed remittance facilities and aggressive selling of third party products.