J&K Bank has turned government employees into ATMs, exposing a banking system that values compliance over compassion
What happens when a bank forgets that its customers are not just account numbers, but living, breathing individuals with families, responsibilities, and limited means? This question has become painfully real for government employees across Jammu and Kashmir, as J&K Bank debits two EMIs from their salary accounts in May without prior individualised consultation or meaningful warning. The legality of the move is not the issue; the ethical vacuum it exposes is.
The affected are not high-income earners or wilful defaulters. They are teachers, clerks, hospital staff—people who draw modest salaries and fulfil their duties in silence. These citizens live on fixed incomes, most already stretched thin by inflation and stagnant wages. To deduct two loan instalments in a single month, without offering alternatives or gauging the hardship it may cause, is not just inconsiderate—it is callous.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its Fair Practices Code for Lenders, instructs banks to treat borrowers with transparency, respect, and decency. Just so you know, changes in repayment terms must be communicated clearly and well in advance. Most importantly, when borrowers face financial stress, banks are advised to explore restructuring options such as deferred payments or revised schedules. J&K Bank’s action, which targets only government employees because their income is predictable, goes against the very spirit of this regulatory guidance.
Why only government employees? Because they are the easiest to deduct from—compliant, reliable, and vulnerable to institutional overreach. This selective pressure is not just discriminatory; it is unethical. It sends a disturbing message: if you are financially disciplined and salaried, you will be the first to pay the price in a crisis.
A bank’s primary role is not just to recover money. It is to enable financial security and serve as a trustworthy partner in people’s lives. J&K Bank could have offered staggered payments, consulted its customers, or issued a public notice with options. Instead, it chose the blunt force of automatic deduction, bypassing both dialogue and dignity.
It is time the Reserve Bank of India takes note. The Jammu and Kashmir administration must demand accountability. And J&K Bank must ask itself a difficult question: in the pursuit of recovery, has it lost its responsibility to the very people who built its deposits?
When institutions forget the humanity of those they serve, they risk becoming efficient machines that serve no one. In banking, as in life, it is easy to collect. It is harder—and nobler—to care.
Aqeb Manzoor
aq*******@***il.com