Srinagar, Feb 3: Jammu & Kashmir Bank has formally written to the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) intimating the withdrawal of Zubair Iqbal – appointed as the bank’s Managing Director in May 2020 – as one of the ten directors of the bank.
In a letter dated 3 March, 2021, from the bank’s company secretary to NSE and BSE, the bank has communicated:
“…. we wish to intimate that Mr Zubair Iqbal, government nominee director, has ceased to be the Director on the Board of the Bank consequent upon withdrawal of his nomination by the government of Jammu & Kashmir.”
Zubair Iqbal was one of the ten other directors on J&K Bank Board, who include:
- R. K. Chhibber
- Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, IAS
- Nitishwar Kumar, IAS
- Rigzian Sampheal, IAS
- Anil Kumar Misra
- Vikram Gujral
- Dr. Rajeev Lochan Bishnoi
- Ms. Monica Dhawan
- Naba Kishore Sahoo
- Dr. Mohmad Ishaq Wani
Pertinently, in May, 2020, subsequent to his participation in a rigorous selection process, which included interviews of the shortlisted candidates by a search committee constituted by J&K government comprising of Ex Union Corporate Affairs Secretary, Tapan Ray, Financial Commissioner, J&K, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta and Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the department of Financial Services, Union Ministry of Finance, Anand Madhukar; Zubair Iqbal was selected and appointed to the post of Managing Director of J&K Bank.
On May 15, 2020, the Government of J&K, Finance Department issued the order nominating him as a government nominee as a director on the Board of J&K Bank for a period of three years. Thereafter, the Board of Directors of J&K Bank Ltd. in its Board meeting held on May 17, 2020, passed a resolution appointing him as Managing Director for a period of three years.
However, despite all these processes, Mr Zubair’s appointment was not formally cleared by the Reserve Bank of India and the new J&K administration as the bank’s Managing Director, who prior to his appointment to J&K Bank, was Senior Vice President at HDFC Bank, and is known to have been instrumental in the bank’s phenomenal growth in Jammu & Kashmir.
With the withdrawal of his nomination by J&K government as a director of the Bank, observers beloeve, chances of him being formally cleared to join as the Managing Director of J&K Bank have almost completely ceased now.