Srinagar, Sep 19: A delegation of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), led by President Javid Ahmad Tenga, has raised a series of concerns with Jammu & Kashmir Bank over credit deployment, interest rates, recruitment, lending procedures, governance and recovery measures affecting stressed borrowers.

The delegation, comprising Past President A.M. Mattoo, Vice President Farooq Amin and Ashiq Hussain Shangloo, met J&K Bank Managing Director and CEO Amitava Chatterjee and submitted an 11-page memorandum seeking a comprehensive Special One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme for eligible stressed borrowers.
While acknowledging the bank’s record net profit of Rs 2,363.47 crore in FY 2025-26, KCCI stressed the need for greater credit deployment in J&K and stronger alignment of lending with the requirements of the regional economy.
The Chamber sought representation for the Kashmir business community on the bank’s Board and urged that the proposed recruitment of around 1,400 posts, as well as future recruitments, be conducted on a divisional basis with equal allocation between Jammu and Kashmir.
KCCI also raised concerns over the requirement of net-worth certificates for renewal of cash-credit and other limits, saying the practice placed an additional compliance burden on businesses. Chatterjee assured the delegation that directions would be issued to ensure borrowers are not asked to furnish net-worth certificates for renewal of credit limits.
The Chamber sought faster sanction and renewal of working-capital and cash-credit facilities, particularly for MSMEs and small businesses, besides lending products suited to the seasonal cash flows of tourism, hospitality, horticulture, handicrafts, transport and trade.
On interest rates, KCCI sought greater transparency and parity in benchmarking, claiming that comparable advances outside J&K were sometimes available at lower rates. It also called for wider use of CGTMSE for collateral-free MSME lending and proportionate collateral and guarantee requirements.
The Chamber further demanded an increase in the bank’s Credit-Deposit ratio to ensure a greater share of deposits mobilised in J&K is deployed for productive lending within the region.
KCCI renewed its demand for a Special OTS scheme, saying more than two years had passed since discussions on the issue began. It sought a transparent, formula-based mechanism on the lines of SBI’s settlement framework for genuinely stressed borrowers.
The Chamber clarified that the proposal was not a blanket loan waiver, but a structured mechanism allowing eligible borrowers to settle their accounts and exit prolonged litigation and recovery proceedings.
It cited the prolonged economic disruptions caused by curfews, shutdowns, violence, communication restrictions, the 2014 floods, 2016 unrest, 2019 constitutional changes and the COVID-19 pandemic.
KCCI sought clear eligibility criteria, reasonable timelines, revival-oriented provisions and a temporary pause on coercive recovery against prima facie eligible applicants.
The Chamber also urged the bank to keep recovery notices against genuine and viable MSMEs in temporary financial distress in abeyance until a comprehensive OTS scheme is announced.
KCCI said repeated publication of recovery notices in newspapers could cause social and reputational difficulties for entrepreneurs and their families and further undermine the standing of otherwise genuine borrowers.
The Chamber urged the bank to adopt a more revival-oriented approach towards businesses facing temporary financial stress while maintaining appropriate safeguards for recovery of public and institutional funds.