Jakarta (ANTARA News) - PT Bank Central Asia Tbk reported Rp5.3 trillion in net profit in the first half of the year or an increase of 10.5 percent year-on-year.

President Director of the country`s largest private bank Jahja Setiaatmadja attributed the improvement in the bank financial performance to credit expansion.

Growing third party funds allowed the bank to boost credits, Jahja said here on Monday.

He said the publicly traded lender has strong capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 14.7 percent well above the minimum level of 8 percent required by the central bank.

In addition its assets swelled 20.2 percent year on year to Rp408.6 trillion by the end of June.

"The bank performed well in the first half of the year on favorable business climate," Jahja said.

Low lending rates pushed up demand for credits both from individual and corporate customers, he added.

He said increase in BCA`s credits has always been sustained by healthy credit activities and solid risk management.

By June the bank had a balance of Rp341.1 trillion for its third party funds or an increase of 19.4 percent from a year earlier.

The balance was dominated by savings which totaled Rp182.3 trillion or an increase of 20.4 percent followed by giro funds accounting for Rp82.8 trillion or an increase of 19.1 percent and time deposits making up Rp76 trillion or an increase of 17.5 percent.

BCA had succeeded in maintaining a healthy compositions of third party fund it held with cheap funds, savings and giro remaining dominant, Jahja said.

He said savings and giro funds made up 77.7 percent of the total amount of its third party funds.

Its net interest income grew 14.4 percent to Rp9.2 trillion on strong credit expansion.

At the same time other operating income rose 12.1 percent to Rp3.6 trillion .

Last year the bank reported Rp10.8 trillion (US$1.2 billion) in net profit or a 27% increase from the previous year .

(AS/H-YH)

Editor: Suryanto
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