BI temporarily suspends Bank Putera's clearing activities<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Bank Indonesia has temporarily suspended the
\nclearing activities of Bank Putera after the bank's account
\nbalance at the central bank hit the negative area.<\/p>\n
\"Bank Indonesia suspended our clearing activities today
\n(Tuesday) due to our negative balance,\" Bank Putera president
\nMasyhud Ali said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
However, Ali said Bank Putera, which is controlled by the
\nTexmaco Group, would inject on Wednesday morning the required
\namount of cash to the central bank in order to settle the
\nnegative balance.<\/p>\n
A negative balance arises when a bank has more obligations
\nthan claims to third parties.<\/p>\n
If the negative balance is not immediately settled by a cash
\ninjection by the concerned bank, Bank Indonesia will temporarily
\nsuspend the bank's clearing activities.<\/p>\n
Ali declined to disclose the required amount Bank Putera would
\nhave to provide to the central bank to lift the clearing
\nsuspension, but hinted the amount was much less than Bank
\nPutera's total assets.<\/p>\n
He said Bank Putera's total assets as of November 1999 stood
\nat Rp 2.9 trillion with a net equity of Rp 440 billion.<\/p>\n
Bank Putera is 98 percent owned by holding company Multikarsa
\nInvestama of the Texmaco Group textile and heavy machinery
\nconcern.<\/p>\n
The group has been entangled in a Rp 9.65 trillion loan
\ncontroversy from state Bank Negara Indonesia involving former
\npresident Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Ali said depositors with Bank Putera started to rush to
\nwithdraw their money on Monday. The rush continued until Tuesday
\nand finally led to the central bank clearing suspension.<\/p>\n
\"The rush was provoked by an Internet media report last
\nSaturday which gave false information about Bank Putera,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said the report mistakenly quoted President Abdurrahman
\nWahid, who is better known as Gus Dur, as implying that Bank
\nPutera had been transferred to the Indonesian Bank Restructuring
\nAgency (IBRA).<\/p>\n
\"The media report was not right. What Gus Dur said was
\nactually that non-bank Texmaco Group companies were transferred
\nto IBRA.\"<\/p>\n
Ali said he hoped Bank Putera could clarify the misinformation
\nto the public and begin to operate normally again after providing
\non Wednesday the required funds to settle its negative balance at
\nits central bank account.<\/p>\n
Ali stressed that Bank Putera was grouped in the category \"A\"
\nbanks, meaning its Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) was above the 4
\npercent required level for a sound bank.<\/p>\n
Banks in this category were not under the control of the
\nIndonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA), Ali said, adding
\nthat Bank Putera's CAR as of June this year stood at 12 percent.
\n(udi)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bi-temporarily-suspends-bank-puteras-clearing-activities-1447893297",
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