• Corporate loan strategy: J&K Bank achieved strong 38.5% corporate loan growth by exclusively financing top-rated, AAA public and private sector entities across varied sectors like infrastructure, real estate, and specialized NBFCs.
• Margin drivers: The bank leverages a CASA ratio exceeding 45% to protect its margins against rate cuts and yield pressure, though net interest margins declined from 3.92% to 3.60% due to repo cuts and a higher corporate lending mix.
• Retail business recovery: With two-thirds of its loan book tied to retail in Jammu and Kashmir, the bank compensated for previous local disruptions by leaning into corporate lending, but expects better overall margins as local retail business continues to normalize.
• FY27 financial guidance: Management issued a conservative guidance of 10% deposit growth, 12% loan advance growth, NIMs around 3.5%, and an NPA reduction of 2.25%, with plans to outperform industry growth by 100 basis points.