I am honoured to assume the responsibilities as the Chairman of Ellaquai Dehati Bank. It is with great enthusiasm that I step into this role and I am committed to fostering the bank's growth.

I extend my gratitude for the trust and confidence bestowed upon me by the stakeholders. Together, we will navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and I am confident that our collective efforts will lead to continued success.

Ellaquai Dehati Bank has encountered challenges in various aspects, including profitability, business growth, and income generation. As custodians of this institution, it is crucial for us to acknowledge these difficulties and collectively work towards overcoming them.

The bank has passed through various challenges since its inception starting with the eruption of militancy in the valley in the year 1989-90, forcing most of the colleagues to migrate to Jammu. The Bank has witnessed other challenges as well like frequent bandhs at regular intervals and flooding in 2014 which in turn had impacted the banks performance inall parameters particularly deterioration of asset quality. There had been other unavoidable challenges during the journey of the bank resulting into a hurdle for growth of the Bank’s business. There are other areas of concerns from banking point of view which need to be addressed. I would like to talk about our accumulated losses which are approx ₹ 340 Crs as of Dec 2023. Our focus should be to wipe out the accumulated losses in a systematic way by increasing our business both in deposits and advances. In addition, we need to focus on income generation opportunities.We know the challenges of our colleagues who are from other states and particularly outside Kashmir valley. My compliments to all of them for their courage and dedication with which they are performing at different branches located across Jammu and Kashmir.

Let us come together as a cohesive team, pooling our skills and dedication to devise effective solutions. The path to recovery may be challenging, but I firmly believe that our collective efforts can steer us towards success.

I encourage open communication and the sharing of ideas. Your insights are invaluable and by fostering a culture of collaboration, we can find innovative ways to address our current predicaments. Remember, challenges are not roadblocks but opportunities for growth and improvement.

I look forward to working closely with the talented team at Ellaquai Dehati Bank and building on the legacy of excellence established by my predecessors. Together, we will strive for innovation, financial stability, compliance culture, business with ethics and a customer-centric approach.

Thank you for your unwavering dedication. Together, we shall overcome and emerge stronger.

(Fayaz Ahmad Wani)