Jakarta (ANTARA) - State-owned Bank Mandiri has been bolstering its distribution of smallholder business credit (KUR) to drive economic growth, especially for the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector.

The measure aligns with the government's commitment to increasing allocation funds of KUR and proceeding with the three-percent interest subsidy until December 2022, Senior Executive Vice President of Micro & Consumer Finance at Bank Mandiri, Josephus K. Triprakoso, stated here on Thursday.

Bank Mandiri received an additional KUR allocation in 2022 of Rp40 trillion, increasing from its 2021 KUR ceiling of Rp35 trillion, Triprakoso highlighted.

"With the extension of KUR's three-percent subsidy program in 2022, we are optimistic of helping MSMEs through the distribution of KUR, which is in accordance with the targets entrusted by the government," Triprakoso stated.

In 2022's KUR distribution, Bank Mandiri will remain focused on targeting the leading productive sectors in each region to achieve the momentum of economic growth in the country, according to Bank Mandiri's release.

Meanwhile, until the end of February 2022, the amount of KUR distributed by Bank Mandiri reached Rp6.7 trillion, or grew 14 percent year to date (ytd), as compared to the previous year, the release stated.

In detail, from Bank Mandiri's total distribution of KUR, some 58 percent, or Rp3.8 trillion, was allocated to the production sector, while allocation for the non-production sector reached Rp2.8 trillion, Triprakoso explained.

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In the near future, Bank Mandiri will continue to actively encourage the distribution of KUR to the production sector to support government programs in accelerating national economic growth and recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, he explained.

"In 2022, Bank Mandiri's KUR distribution will remain focused on the leading productive sector in each region, such as agriculture, fisheries, processing industry, and production services, that is supported by synergies from all business segments, strong coordination across networks, and strategic cooperation with financial and e-commerce companies," Triprakoso stated.

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Translator: Citro A, Kenzu T
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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