"We want to provide widening access of financial banking to citizens."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian central bank, Bank Indonesia (BI), has issued nine banking regulations to encourage sustainable and inclusive financial growth, BI Governor Darmin Nasution said in Jakarta.
"The regulations were made through three policy corridors: the maintenance of financial stability systems, to assure strong banking endurance and competitiveness, and to allow for the strengthening of banking intermediary functions," Nasution said.
He also emphasised the two most important regulations, which he said were trust banking services (trustee) and multiple licenses for banking.
The trustee regulations were introduced to meet the needs of businessmen, particularly in oil and gas sectors, to create trusts for their export revenues in Indonesian banks.
Nasution noted that 11 of the 19 oil and gas companies in Indonesia were depositing their money in trusts in foreign banks in Singapore, New York and Swiss Credit, and explained that Indonesian banks had not yet provided trust services.
"It is important to hold their foreign exports to make sure of the domestic inflow of foreign currency," he said.
He also discussed multiple licenses, which are to be regulated based upon a bank`s category and will be determined by the amount of capital and the terms to expand banking office branches.
The Governor added that the purpose of multiple licenses included a long term vision to increase banking accessibility for all Indonesians.
Therefore, Nasution said BI has divided Indonesia into six categories, according to the availability of banks.
"We want to provide widening access of financial banking to citizens throughout Indonesia," he said.
The other regulations which were launched by BI are banking risk management on auto and mortgage payments (LTV and Down Payment regulations), Capital Equivalence Maintained Assets (CEMA), short term banking fund regulations, bank share possession regulations, single licenses for bank ownership, credit distribution of micro, small and medium business, and wider financial access through Branchless Banking.
(T.A060/INE/KR-BSR/O001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
