New bank liquidation rule puts depositors second<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Depositors will only be paid after preferred
\ncreditors whenever a bank is liquidated, Bank Indonesia said
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
Heru Soepraptomo, a director at the central bank, told a
\nseminar that the new ruling on bank liquidation did not nullify
\nany existing rulings.<\/p>\n
"Preferred creditors would still have preferential rights over
\ndepositors whenever a bank is liquidated," Heru said.<\/p>\n
Preferred creditors are those which hold liens on a bank's
\nfixed assets.<\/p>\n
Lawyer Rasjim Wiraatmadja told the seminar that assets already
\nused as collateral could not be liquidated without the consent of
\nthe lien holders -- the preferred creditors.<\/p>\n
Lien holders' rights are governed by the 1996 mortgage law,
\nnot by the new regulation on bank liquidation. And law always
\noverrides government regulations.<\/p>\n
"Thus, it is not true that depositors have a better position
\nthan preferred creditors whenever a bank is liquidated," Rasjim
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Heru agreed that preferred creditors had a better position
\nthan depositors.<\/p>\n
Whenever a bank is liquidated, depositors will only be paid
\nafter the appointed liquidation team has paid all salaries owed,
\ncourt fees, auction fees, taxes, administrative costs and
\nliabilities to preferred creditors.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Heru stressed, the new ruling on bank
\nliquidation put depositors in a better position than before.<\/p>\n
He said the new ruling provided more legal certainty to all
\nparties concerned -- depositors, creditors, directors,
\ncommissioners and shareholders -- whenever a bank was liquidated.<\/p>\n
Economist Pande Radja Silalahi disagreed, saying that the new
\nruling on bank liquidation still contained some uncertainty.<\/p>\n
He said that appointed liquidators still had too much freedom
\nin settling a bank's liabilities.<\/p>\n
Whenever the assets of an insolvent bank fail to cover its
\nliabilities, the liquidators may pay each depositor an equal sum
\nor a proportional amount according to the size of their deposits.<\/p>\n
"These two ways to pay out depositors create uncertainty ...
\nFor the sake of legal certainty, it would be better to allow one
\nway rather than two," Silalahi said.<\/p>\n
He also questioned how the central bank would enforce the
\nruling on the responsibility of directors and commissioners in
\nthe case of bank failure because of their negligence.<\/p>\n
The ruling stipulates that directors or commissioners found
\nresponsible for bank failure through negligence have an unlimited
\nliability whenever a bank is liquidated. Liquidators may seize
\ntheir private assets if the bank's assets are insufficient to
\nsettle its liabilities.<\/p>\n
Heru said the central bank had anticipated that commissioners
\nor directors might transfer the ownership of their assets to
\nsomebody else long before their bank was liquidated.<\/p>\n
The government is preparing a ruling to empower the central
\nbank to investigate bank fraud. The central bank is expected to
\nbe able to trace such hasty transfers of ownership.<\/p>\n
"We believe that such hasty transfers of ownership can still
\nbe traced; moreover, directors or commissioners may not quit
\ntheir positions until liquidation has been completed," Heru said.<\/p>\n
He added that the central bank would be allowed to investigate
\nonly the technical side of fraud, while the criminal side would
\nbe handled by the police or the Attorney General's office.<\/p>\n
According to 1992 banking law, if directors, commissioners or
\nshareholders' actions cause their bank to become insolvent and
\nlose its operating license, they could face 6 years imprisonment
\nand a fine of Rp 6 billion (US$2.5 million). (rid)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/new-bank-liquidation-rule-puts-depositors-second-1447893297",
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