The government places funds in banks that provide a multiplier effect on lendingJakarta (ANTARA) - Banks have lent Rp458.22 trillion to 5.49 million debtors using government funds as of December 17, 2021, Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, has informed.
"The government places funds in banks that provide a multiplier effect on lending," she said at the KSSK press conference here on Wednesday.
The support of the Financial System Stability Committee (KSSK) for the banking sector is a part of the policy package for encouraging economic recovery through banking intermediation, she explained.
The Ministry of Finance, Bank Indonesia, the Financial Services Authority (OJK), and the Indonesian Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS), in accordance with their respective authorities, have implemented policies to provide banking confidence in disbursing credit or financing, the minister said.
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KSSK is also supporting banking industry liquidity, sustaining banking performance, and maintaining public confidence in the banking industry, she added.
The placement of government funds in banks is aimed at supporting banking performance as well as encouraging intermediation, Indrawati said.
"The more normal the level of intermediation in the financial sector, especially banking, the more accelerated economic recovery will be," she expounded.
The government has implemented its program for placing funds in banks since 2020 as part of restoring the national economy.
This program aims to encourage banks to channel credit, especially to the real sector.
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In the Rp744.77-trillion budget for the national economic recovery( PEN) program in 2021, the placement of funds in banks was included as a support for MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) and corporations, with Rp171.77 trillion allocated for the purpose, Indrawati said.
The budget for the national economic recovery program (PEN) has been increased to Rp455.62 trillion, or about US$31.7 billion, for 2022, she informed earlier.
"This indicates PEN has been included in the 2022 state budget," she said during a meeting with Commission XI of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) here on Wednesday.
According to Indrawati, the budget has been apportioned for three sectors—health (Rp122.5 trillion), social protection (Rp154.8 trillion), and economic recovery consolidation (Rp178.3 trillion).
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The health budget will focus on vaccine supplies and treatment of coronavirus patients, which is still generating considerable hospital bills, she said.
Moreover, due to the emergence of the Delta variant of COVID-19, the spending budget for patient care reached Rp94 trillion in 2021, and there is still Rp23 trillion in bills to be paid in 2022, the minister informed.
"The health sector, especially in (patient) treatment, is under budget because once there is an increase in COVID-19 (cases), its (budget spending) realization would be higher," she explained.
Vaccine stocks are relatively available and budget realization for procuring vaccines will be lower because Indonesia has obtained a lot of COVID-19 vaccine grants, she highlighted.
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Translator: Astrid F, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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