Andromeda's last effort fails to avoid liquidation axe<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Bank Andromeda, one of 16 banks closed by the
\ngovernment over the weekend, said yesterday it tried to save the
\nbank at the last minute with Rp 350 billion (US$100 million) in
\nnew funds, but the effort fell short of the deadline.<\/p>\n
Pieter Gontha, one of Andromeda's shareholders, said at a news
\nconference the bank had put up the funds to Bank Indonesia (the
\ncentral bank) Saturday morning to prevent the bank from being
\nliquidated, but the decision had already been made.<\/p>\n
\"By the time we arrived at Bank Indonesia at 9:45 a.m., the
\ncentral bank governor and the finance minister had already made
\nthe decision, although it was not announced until 1 p.m. that
\nday,\" added Gontha, who represented Andromeda's board of
\ncommissioners.<\/p>\n
\"This is ironic since Andromeda's shareholders all tried their
\nbest to solve and fulfill the requirement to save the bank. We
\nwere in a hurry to deliver Rp 350 billion to save the bank, but
\nwe were too late,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The government announced Saturday it had closed 16 ailing
\nprivate banks as part of an International Monetary Fund-assisted
\nreform package to restore confidence in the country's economy.<\/p>\n
Gontha said the central bank notified Andromeda's management
\nThursday about the Saturday meeting at Bank Indonesia's head
\noffice. But the letter from the central bank only said the
\nmeeting was to discuss matters about Andromeda.<\/p>\n
\"We will announce the implementation of Andromeda's
\nliquidation process on Nov. 13, after further discussion with a
\n'caretaker' team from Bank Indonesia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Gontha admitted Andromeda had violated several banking
\nregulations, such as exceeding the legal lending limit.<\/p>\n
He said Bank Andromeda had violated the legal lending limit by
\nproviding loans totaling $75 million to some of its shareholders
\nwho later used the loans to put up equity in PT Chandra Asri
\npetrochemical company.<\/p>\n
Several Andromeda shareholders are also main shareholders in
\nPT Chandra Asri.<\/p>\n
\"However, we (the shareholders) have repaid the loans to Bank
\nAndromeda,\" Gontha added.<\/p>\n
The bank also failed to meet the minimum reserve requirement
\nseveral times, although it had always paid the fine imposed by
\nthe central bank for violating the rule, he said.<\/p>\n
\"But Bank Andromeda had fulfilled the minimum 8 percent
\ncapital adequacy ratio (against assets),\" Gontha pointed out.<\/p>\n
Andromeda is 50 percent owned by Prayogo Pangestu of Barito
\nPacific, 25 percent by Henry Pribadi, chairman of the Napan
\nGroup, and the remaining 25 percent by President Soeharto's third
\nson Bambang Trihatmodjo.<\/p>\n
Gontha said Chandra Asri and other companies owned by
\nAndromeda's shareholders were the biggest depositors at
\nAndromeda.<\/p>\n
Andromeda, established here in 1990, has about 9,000 customers
\nand 20,000 accounts in 13 branches across Java.<\/p>\n
The bank's president, Nico Mailangkai, said the bank's assets
\ntotaled about Rp 1.2 trillion.<\/p>\n
The bank had Rp 860 billion in third-party deposits, and its
\ntotal credit reached almost Rp 900 billion, Nico said.<\/p>\n
Nico said Andromeda's debts through the interbank market were
\nbetween Rp 30 billion and Rp 40 billion. (das)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/andromedas-last-effort-fails-to-avoid-liquidation-axe-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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