J&K Bank to get Rs 500 cr capital infusion from govt

Srinagar, Feb 8: J&K Bank is set to receive Rs 500 Cr capital infusion from the government of Jammu and Kashmir to meet the Basel-III requirements, a spokesperson of the bank said on Saturday.
Basel-III is a global, voluntary regulatory framework on bank capital adequacy, stress testing, and market liquidity risk. This third installment of the Basel Accords was developed in response to the deficiencies in financial regulation revealed by the financial crisis of 2007–08.
“The funds to J&K Bank, as per the Finance Department of the government, will be released over the period of next two months of the current financial year (CFY) 2019-20, as the government has already set aside the amount meant for equity infusion or recapitalization of the bank,” the spokesperson said.
Consequently, he said, the Board of Directors of the bank in a meeting held on Friday considered raising of capital by the bank by way of preferential issue of specified securities to the government of Jammu and Kashmir, the promoter and majority shareholder of the bank.
Expressing his gratitude towards the government, particularly the Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu, for timely infusion of the capital, the bank’s Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Rajesh Kumar Chhibber said that besides improving the bank’s capital adequacy under the Basel-III norms, the capital infusion will substantially improve its risk bearing capacity.
He added that the much needed infusion shall also help the bank in revising its lending policies particularly towards the retail segment like housing, education, government sponsored schemes, agriculture etc.
Acknowledging the government’s support, he added that as the promoter and majority stakeholder of J&K Bank, the government has remained ever committed in its support towards the bank and the capital infusion is another glaring example of the same. The infusion, he said, will translate into growth and expansion and at the same time boost the confidence of all other stakeholders in the bank.