The Hindu : Business : J&K Bank profit up

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 20, 2006

Business

Business

J&K Bank profit up

Shuja'at Bukhari

Qualification-free balance sheet

SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Bank has registered a 54 per cent increase in profit at Rs. 177 crore in 2005-06 against Rs. 115 crore in 2004-05.

For the first time the bank's balance sheet is unqualified.

Announcing the final results for 2005-06, bank Chairman Haseeb A Drabu told a news conference here on Friday that the bank's operating profit was up by 80 per cent at Rs. 143 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2006 against Rs. 79 crore in the corresponding quarter in 2004-05.

The total business turnover increased by 15 per cent to Rs. 37,968 crore, total deposits by 8 per cent to Rs. 23,485 crore and advances by 25 per cent 14,483 crore. The cost of deposits came down to 4.55 per cent.

Mr. Drabu said many initiatives in Kashmir and Jammu were on the anvil. He dismissed the view that the bank was facing any major challenge from private banks. He said the bank had decided to increase the interest rate on deposits to 7 per cent. For the first time, the year-end balance sheet of the bank did not carry any auditor's qualification, which was another step towards management's commitment to transparency, he said.

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