Below is a list with tagged columns and company profiles.

Today's Headlines Banking

  • Bank Negara Indonesia Reports 20.1% Net Profit Growth in FY-2017

    One of Indonesia's largest banks, Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), reported a 20.1 percent year-on-year (y/y) increase to IDR 13.62 trillion (approx. USD $1.0 billion) in consolidated net profit in full-year 2017. This strong growth pace came on the back of a 12.2 percent (y/y) increase in credit growth to IDR 441.3 trillion (approx. USD $32.9 billion).

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  • Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) Targets Double-Digit Growth in 2018

    Indonesian financial institution Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) targets to see double-digit profit growth in 2018 supported by rising credit growth. Suprajarto, President Director of BRI, said rising revenue and the implementation of efficiency measures will boost the bank's performance in 2018. Moreover, Indonesia's banking sector is currently "hot", reflected by surging shares of the big listed Indonesian banks on the Indonesia Stock Exchange.

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  • Bank Kesejahteraan Ekonomi Delays IPO as New Investor Arrived

    Indonesian financial institution Bank Kesejahteraan Ekonomi delayed its initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange because it welcomed a new investor. Earlier Bank Kesejahteraan Ekonomi planned to conduct its IPO at the start of 2018. It still targets to become a publicly listed company this year but in the second half of 2018, the earliest.

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  • OJK Urges Indonesia's Sharia Banks to Become More Selective

    Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (in Indonesian: Otoritas Jasa Keuangan, or OJK), the government agency that regulates and supervises Indonesia's financial services sector, urges the nation's sharia banks to become more selective in terms of disbursing credit in order to strengthen the quality of loans in Indonesia's Islamic finance industry.

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  • Credit Growth, Profit & NPL Ratio of Indonesian Banks Improve in Q3

    Several big state-controlled banks in Indonesia posted double-digit profit growth in the third quarter of 2017, extending the positive corporate performance that was posted by these banks in the preceding quarters. This performance comes on the back of sliding reserves in line with rising credit growth, an improvement in the quality of banks' loans and lower non-performing loan (NPL) ratios.

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  • Bank Rakyat Indonesia Sees Good Growth at East Timor Branch

    Haru Koesmahargyo, Finance Director of Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), said the company's new branch office in East Timor (Timor Leste), which was opened several months ago, already managed to open about 20,000 new accounts for local clients. Considering the limited time-span and the limited local population in the region, these results are very positive. Also in terms of transactions the East Timor branch shows good growth.

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  • Bank Rakyat Indonesia to Speed Up Migration to BRIsat

    Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), one of Indonesia's largest financial institutions, will accelerate the migration of its ATM network and operating units to BRIsat, the company's satellite that was launched on 20 June 2016. Indra Utoyo, Director of Digital Banking and Technology at BRI, said many - but not all - of the bank's ATMs and operating units have already been migrated to BRIsat.

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  • Do Indonesians Now Really Prefer to Save Rather than Consume?

    Indonesia's purchasing power may not be as weak as initially assumed in the first half of 2017. It could be that consumers and businesses now actually prefer to save their funds on banks than to spend and invest. Based on data from the Financial Services Authority (OJK) third-party funds in Indonesia's banking sector (saving and deposit accounts) expanded 11.2 percent year-on-year (y/y) to IDR 5,012.5 trillion (approx. USD $3,775.4 billion) in May 2017.

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Latest Columns Banking

  • S&P: Indonesia's Banking Industry Stable but Profitability May Weaken

    New York-based financial services firm Standard & Poor's stated that Indonesia's banking industry will feel the negative impact of Indonesia's sluggish economic growth in combination with persistently low commodity prices next year. This combination may weaken profitability of the nation's banking industry. S&P puts Indonesia's economic growth in 2016 at 5 percent (y/y), below the International Monetary Fund's and World Bank's forecast as well as the central government's target, all at 5.3 percent (y/y).

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  • How Can a Foreigner (Expat) Open a Foreign Currency Bank Account in Indonesia?

    Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) issued a new regulation that simplifies the opening of a foreign currency bank account by a foreign national (expat). A circular, S-246/S.01/2015 (dated 15 September 2015 and signed by OJK Chairman Muliaman D. Hadad), has been sent to all directors of Indonesian commercial banks that conduct business in foreign currencies. This new rule, part of the economic policy package that was released by the Indonesian government on 9 September, aims to boost foreign currency funds in Indonesia and support the rupiah.

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  • Banking in Foreign Currencies for Expats in Indonesia Made Easier

    Soon it will be easier for foreigners (expats) to have a foreign currency bank account (non-rupiah) in Indonesia. Muliaman D. Hadad, Chairman of the Financial Services Authority (OJK), stated it is bound to issue a new regulation that allows for easier banking in foreign currencies in Indonesia. This regulation is made in an effort to raise the country’s foreign exchange reserves and support the ailing rupiah.

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  • Press Release Bank Indonesia: BI Rate Held at 7.50% in August 2015

    During Bank Indonesia’s Board of Governors it was decided on 18th August 2015 to hold the BI Rate at 7.50 percent, while maintaining the Deposit Facility rate at 5.50 percent and the Lending Facility rate at 8.00 percent. The decision is consonant with efforts to control inflation within the target corridor of 4±1 percent in 2015 and 2016. In the short term, Bank Indonesia (BI) is focused on efforts to stabilize the rupiah amid uncertainty in the global economy, by optimizing monetary operations in the rupiah and the foreign exchange market.

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  • Islamic Banking in Indonesia Explained: New Rules & Foreign Ownership

    Indonesian financial authorities are considering to ease foreign ownership limits for local Islamic banks and to promote new sharia-compliant financial tools in an effort to make the Islamic finance industry more attractive to foreign investors and the Indonesian population. Despite having the world’s largest Muslim population and being a dynamic emerging economy, Indonesia plays only a very minor role in the global Islamic banking industry. Meanwhile, domestically, Islamic banking still seriously lags behind conventional banking.

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  • Bank Indonesia Press Release: BI Rate Maintained at 7.50%

    Indonesia’s central bank (Bank Indonesia) decided to maintain its benchmark interest rate (BI rate) at 7.50 percent, the deposit facility rate at 5.50 percent and lending facility rate at 8.00 percent. This interest rate environment is considered to be in line with the central bank’s ongoing efforts to push the country’s inflation figure within its target of 4±1 percent for 2015 and 2016, as well as to control the country’s current account deficit towards a healthier level at 2.5-3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the medium term.

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  • Islamic Banking in Indonesia: Boosting Syariah Finance

    Syariah banking or Islamic finance is a large untapped potential in Indonesia, a country where about 13 percent of the total global Muslim population live. With nearly 90 percent of the 250 million people in Indonesia adhering to Islam, the market share of syariah (sharia) finance is remarkably low. At USD $24 billion, Islamic banks in Indonesia only held 4.9 percent of the country’s total banking assets in 2013, hence making Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) decide to launch a five-year roadmap in a move to boost syariah banking.

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  • Indonesia & Malaysia Support Banking Integration in ASEAN Region

    Bank Indonesia (the central bank of Indonesia) and the Financial Services Authority (OJK) signed an agreement (the ASEAN Banking Integration Framework, abbreviated ABIF) with Malaysia’s central bank to support banking integration in the ASEAN region. The website of Bank Indonesia states that ABIF “provides an operating framework for ASEAN member states to implement principles and the integration process in the banking sector to support the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) [which is to be implemented later this year]”.

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  • Bank for International Settlements: Emerging Markets Vulnerable

    The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) wrote in its most recent report that emerging economies, which includes Indonesia, are highly vulnerable to severe capital outflows as investments from the West have been highly speculative and can be quickly pulled out from emerging markets. Even when only a light shock occurs, capital outflows will be significant as international investors have been showing ‘herd behaviour’. This behavior can rock the financial fundamentals of emerging markets and leave these countries shattered.

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  • Bank Indonesia Keeps Key Interest Rate at 7.50% in September 2014

    The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) kept its key interest rate (BI rate) at 7.50 percent for the tenth consecutive month as inflation is under control and well within the year-end target of the central bank (3.5-5.5 percent). The lending facility and deposit facility were kept at 7.50 percent and 5.75 percent, respectively, at Thursday’s Board of Governor’s Meeting (11/09). The central bank also expects that the current interest rate environment is capable of curbing the country’s wide current account deficit.

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