Srinagar, Dec 31: Banks operating in Jammu and Kashmir have disbursed Rs 43,016.93 crore across all sectors during the first half of the current financial year, achieving about 68 percent of their Annual Credit Plan (ACP) target.
The strong performance signals exceptional momentum in J&K’s banking sector from April to September 2025.
Official data shows that the credit was extended across 10,06,737 loan accounts, registering a robust 23 percent year-on-year growth.
With an annual credit target of Rs 63,679.13 crore for FY 2025-26, banks have already surpassed more than two-thirds of the planned amount, covering around 57 percent of the total account target of 17.6 lakh.
Banking sources said that lending rates during the period varied widely across segments, ranging from 7.25 percent at the lower end to about 14 percent at the higher end.
Priority sector lending continued to lead the credit expansion.
During the first half of FY26, banks disbursed Rs 22,428.93 crore to the priority sector across 6,14,089 accounts, marking a 25 percent year-on-year growth.
This represents 52 percent achievement of the annual amount target and about 49 percent of the account coverage goal for the segment.
Non-priority sector lending also recorded a strong showing.
Banks disbursed Rs 20,588 crore across 3,92,648 accounts in this category, registering 20 percent growth.
Notably, the non-priority sector has already achieved 101 percent of its full-year target of Rs 20,366.96 crore in just six months, effectively surpassing the annual goal ahead of schedule.
Private sector banks emerged as key drivers of the credit surge, disbursing Rs 18,042.63 crore in priority sector lending alone, a 25 percent increase over the corresponding period last year.
They have achieved 65 percent of their annual priority sector target of Rs 27,890.26 crore.
Public sector banks recorded the highest growth rate of 30 percent year-on-year in priority sector lending, though their total disbursement stood at Rs 2989.90 crore across 53,094 accounts, covering about 33 percent of their annual target.
Regional Rural Banks posted a 27 percent growth, disbursing Rs 1324.31 crore across 1,19,610 accounts, while Cooperative Banks were the only segment to see a decline, with lending falling 19 percent to Rs 72.10 crore.
The strong credit offtake has been supported by improving banking fundamentals in J&K.
Total deposits grew 8 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,03,524 crore in the first half of FY26, enhancing banks’ lending capacity. Total advances, excluding RIDF, rose 6 percent to Rs 1,24,780 crore.
Priority sector advances increased sharply by 17 percent to Rs 54,520 crore and now account for 44 percent of total advances, up from 40 percent a year ago.
Asset quality also showed improvement, with gross non-performing assets declining by 22 percent year-on-year to Rs 3968 crore from Rs 5073 crore.
The credit-deposit ratio stood at 61.31 percent, marginally lower than 62.32 percent in the same period last year, reflecting faster growth in deposits compared to advances.
Banking officials said that achieving 68 percent of annual targets in the first half of the fiscal year is unusual and may prompt a recalibration of targets in the remaining quarters.
They attributed the surge to conservative planning at the start of the year, combined with stronger-than-expected credit demand, driven by infrastructure activity, government initiatives and improved economic sentiment in J&K.
With lending rates ranging between 7.25 and 14 percent across sectors and credit demand remaining buoyant, banks are expected to comfortably surpass their annual disbursement targets, potentially making FY26 one of the strongest years for banking performance in J&K in recent times.