Stating that the Government of Jammu & Kashmir and people of the state were satisfied with the performance of the J&K Bank and its contribution towards economic empowerment of the individuals and overall development of the state, Abdul Rahim Rather, Minister of Finance & Ladakh Affairs has said that J&K Bank will never ever fail owing to the total functional autonomy it enjoys in its day to day affairs. 
"J&K Bank will never ever fail. It will continue to progress by leaps and bounds. The key of its growth and strength lies in its customer friendly business approach and the total funtional autonomy it enjoys in its day to day affairs", he said while speaking to an impressive gathering of customers of the bank soon after inagurating the bank's new business unit at Kanir, Budgam in presence of Parvez Ahmad, Bank's Executive President. 
He said that Government had given total functional autonomy to the bank to ensure it grows uninterrupted. "We believe undue interference with the affairs of the bank is determental to its health. So, to ensure its unstoppable growth, we have left its functionig upto the able leadership of its management. We are always there to support this proud institution of our state to see it grow and prosper", he added. 
Finance Minister appreciated bank's efforts to reach out to remote and rural areas as part of its financial inclusion plan backed by a massive network expansion. 
He reiterated that the other banking players operating in the state of J&K should shun the conservative approach while extending advances and loans. "If they do not improve their credit disbursement in our state, we will not hesitate to take the severe action against them. Flight of capital is unacceptable", he stressed. 
Maintaining that growing network of J&K Bank branches was facilitating easy access to financial services and solutions, Finance Minister urged the people to take maximum benefit from the various schemes of the bank. He, however, urged the people to infuse bank finance in productive ventures. "Effective and productive uuse of bank finance can not only help you financially empower yoursef, but it can pave way for generation of employment ventutes for others and in the process contribute towards the overall development of the state.", he said. 
In his address, Executive President of the Bank Parvez Ahmad extended a warm welcome to the Finance Minister for gracing the occasion. He congratulated the people of the village and adjoining areas for the inauguration of the new business unit in the area which he hoped will play an effective and meaningful role for the economic development of the region. He further stated that the people of the state are fortunate to have the visionary leadership of Chief Minister and Finance Minister under whose able and dynamic leadership we see a new era of prosperity and growth for the J&K State. He attributed the strong credibility of the institution to the support being extended by the state government, customers and people of the state. 
"J&K Bank being a J&K centric institution with national presence has to play a greater role in the economic and social transformation of the state which in turn will help the Bank to grow and prosper. In line with the said vision, the Bank has customized its products and services to suit the local population and sectors which are instrumental in driving the economy of the State," said Parvez Ahmad. He thanked the Finance Minister for guiding and patronizing the Bank from time to time for accomplishment of business objectives and the strategic plans aimed at economic development of the state and growth of the Bank. 
Parvez while highlighting the able leadership of Chairman of the bank Mushtaq Ahmad said, "The Bank has shown phenomenal growth in all spheres of activities. Since his take over, the business has gone up from Rs 62000 crore to Rs 86000 crore, profit up to Rs 810 crore from Rs 310 crore, number of branches has increased from 535 to 622 and number of ATM's from 307 to 542." 
While highlighting J&K Bank as a major player in the economic development of the state, he stated: "The total credit outflow from all the banks operating in the J&K State stands at Rs 20210 crore out of which J&K Bank's share constitutes Rs 13475 crore, commanding a market share of 68 %."
He assured the people of the region that Bank will extend hassle free credit to the agricultural sector with a view to realize the underlying potential of the sector in the region through KCC and Apple Finance schemes. 
Referring to the horticulture sector, he said that in the state, there is an incremental potential of about Rs 10000 crore for lending to this sector and the bank has already set up the plans for bringing all the fruit growers within the ambit of the banking fold. 
The bank shall be aggressively extending financial assistance to the people below poverty line thorugh DRI scheme liberally. While announcing the future growth plans of the management for the Budgam District for the next three years, parvez disclosed that the bank would be raising the number of branches from 27 to 60 and number of ATM's from 9 to 50. "We are planning to raise advances from current level of Rs 484 crore to Rs.1000 crore; agricultural lending from Rs 43 crore to Rs. 300 crore and horticultural lending from Rs 27 crore to 200 crore in the district within next three years. Notably, the bank's CD Ratio in the district is 52 % and ‘we have a target to raise it to 60%', said Parvez.