J&K Bank Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Rajesh Kumar Chhibber today made a fervent appeal to the customers of the bank to strictlyfollow the government directives regarding containment of the rising Covid-19 infections and maintain social distancing as mandated by the WHO by avoiding unnecessary rush at the bank’s branches and ATMs to help prevent the infection from spreading. The appeal comes in the wake of Kashmir reporting its first death caused by the highly contagious novel Coronavirus or Covid-19.
In view of the growing pandemic the bank, he said, has alsowaived charges on digital transactions and non-maintenance of minimum balanceon all accounts till June 30, 2020. The move is a goodwill gesture to thebank’s stakeholders especially its valued customers, he said.
“There will be no charges on debit card transactions on domesticATMs, NEFT/RTGS transactions initiated on mPay or ebank and on UPItransactions. Besides, no charges will be levied on account of non-maintenanceof minimum balance”, the CMD informed. “The move will help provide a richerbanking experience to our valued customers and encourage them to use ourbest-in-class digital channels from the convenience and safety of their homes”,he added.
The move comes right on the heels of the RBI’s decision toallow 3-month moratorium on the payment of instalments of term loans anddeferment of interest on working capital facilities outstanding as on March 1,2020 besides slashing the key lending rate by 75 basis points (0.75 percentagepoint) and other measures in an emergency move to counter the economic falloutof the coronavirus-induced 21-day lockdown. J&K Bank has also reduced itsexternal benchmark/ repo linked lined rate by 75 basis points.
“We welcome RBIs slew of measures aimed at infusingliquidity, reducing cost of credit and ensuring stability in the system. Theseare abnormal times and RBI as a responsible and responsive institution hasensured that the delicate balance of the financial system in the countryremains intact. The priority right now is survival and stability.
Besides giving a breather to consumers and businesses byannouncing 3 months EMI and interest moratorium, the decision will also reducea huge amount of stress on banks’ balance sheets”, the CMD said.
“I would like to reiterate to my customers that J&K Bankas a responsible social & commercial corporate entity shall pass on theserelaxations interest rate reduction and moratorium without any loss of time. Our seniormanagement team is working to ensure that the directions are implemented witheffect from tomorrow itself”, he added.
As part of its strategy to ensure business continuity anduninterrupted services to its customers, the bank has constituted a QuickResponse Team comprising of the bank’s senior officials to address all theissues that might arise out of the Covid-19 pandemic and affect the bank’sstakeholders.
“We have formulated a strategy to effectively deal with theemerging situation and have directed the Business Unit Heads to not allow anyunnecessary rush in the Business Units for their as well as customers’ safety.However, the bank will continue to ensure that its customers have access tofunds either directly or electronically. In view of the current scenario, withCovid-19 cases rising, I urge people to avoid unnecessary rush and cometoBusiness Units only when absolutely necessary while maintaining socialdistancing”, the CMD said.
To ensure the safety of customers, the bank has takenproactive steps to mitigate the risks of getting or spreading the contagion. Inaddition, the bank has rolled out several other measures to respond to thefinancial exigencies of stakeholder including revised working hours of 10 a.m.to 2 p.m.
“All ATMs and Business Units are regularly sanitized acrossthe country especially in the J&K and Ladakh UTs. At the same time, I urgepeople to take full advantage of our digital channels which include seamlessnet banking, hassle-free mobile banking, and debit and credit cards. Besides,we have provided sanitizers to all the ATM guards across J&K to keep theATMs clean. People should not panic at all, instead they should enjoy bankingwith us from the convenience of their homes”, the CMD said.
Earlier also, in a message to the bank’s customers, the CMDhad informed that the bank remained committed to safeguard.