Srinagar, Aug 05: The job of bankers here is to take financial-education literacy very seriously, when so much wealth is being created in the country J&K too should become part of this national journey.
This was stated by the Whole Time Member (WTM) of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Ashwani Bhatia today while delivering a keynote address on ‘Overview of Securities Market’ here at J&K Bank’s corporate headquarters. He was accompanied by the Executive Director (SEBI) G P Garg and CGM (SEBI) Saahil Malik on his visit to the Bank’s headquarters.
Earlier, the Bank’s MD & CEO Baldev Prakash along with Executive Director Sudhir Gupta warmly received the visiting dignitaries at the corporate office. The keynote address was attended by the Bank’s General Managers, deputy General Managers and other senior officers besides MD JKBFSL and his team of senior officers. Deputy MD &CBO SBI Mutual Funds D P Singh was also present on the occasion.
During his keynote address, Ashwani Bhatia gave a detailed overview of the securities market in the country saying, “Markets in India are safe, secure and well-regulated. As the fifth largest economy in the world, the value of our GDP i.e. Rs 310 Lac Cr is almost equal to the Market Capitalisation of the companies in the country, which is Rs 300 lac Cr. In addition if we add bond market and other products, it actually bigger than the GDP of the country. So as the country grows the wealth is actually being created here.”
“But the sad part is that this wealth is not evenly distributed in the country. For the market cap of Rs 300 Lac Cr there are only 11.4 Cr de-mat accounts in the country. Which actually means that everybody is not participating in the wealth creation happening in the country” he added.
Pitching for financial deepening in J&K, he advised the Bank management to take the financial education literacy deeper into and across Jammu and Kashmir. He said, “The Assets under management portfolio in J&K are on a very lower side at just Rs 5700 Cr along with only 4.7 Lac Demat Accounts and 4.8 Lac Folios. This calls for a massive financial deepening across the UT of J&K.”
“Make your customers part of the wealth-creation journey and encourage them to make long-term investments for decent returns. Discourage overtrading as the markets can be very volatile. And advise them to always invest in companies that give long-term value”, he added.
Thanking the Bank for being a very good host, he said, “I always like to come back to Kashmir. Thank you J&K Bank for hosting us. May you prosper as a bank and bring prosperity to your customers. And may their wealth also grow.”
In his welcome address on the occasion, MD & CEO introduced the special guest saying, “With his treasure of experience and expertise, Mr Bhatia is one of the leading figures in banking and financial landscape of the country besides being a thorough professional and a great human being.”
“And with a profoundly cerebral grasp over theories and practices of banking, corporate -governance and market-functioning; Mr Bhatia continues to inspire leaders in banking and financial world with his unique blend of banking knowledge, market insight and regulatory perspective”, he added.
The Bank’s General Manager Syed Rais Maqbool presented the vote of thanks. He thanked the visiting dignitaries especially the Chief Guest for his insightful address and affirmed the Bank’s resolve to take the society on to the journey of wealth creation through deepening of financial education literacy programs.
Notably, after his illustrious career of over 33-years at SBI that saw him rising through the ranks to the coveted position of Managing Director, Ashwani Bhatia joined Securities and Exchange Board of India, last year, as its third Whole Time Member.
