{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1810458,
        "msgid": "perbanas-reveals-structural-issues-behind-sluggish-msme-lending-1781787230",
        "date": "2026-06-18 18:40:19",
        "title": "Perbanas Reveals Structural Issues Behind Sluggish MSME Lending",
        "author": "",
        "source": "CNBC",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Banking",
        "summary": "Indonesia's National Banks Association (Perbanas) has identified that sluggish growth in micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) lending is primarily driven by weak demand, with nearly 90% of MSMEs not seeking loans because they feel they do not need them. Despite high bank approval rates of around 94.3% for formal MSMEs, credit growth has contracted to -0.47% year-on-year as of February 2026, indicating a structural problem rather than a supply-side constraint. Perbanas has launched an MSME Centre to help bridge the gap and foster a more inclusive, bankable sector.",
        "content": "<p>The National Banks Association (Perbanas) has revealed that the\nsluggish growth in MSME lending is occurring because the majority of\nMSME players feel they do not need loans. Perbanas noted that MSME\ncredit growth has shown weakening since the end of 2022 and entered\nnegative territory at the end of 2025. As of February 2026, MSME credit\nwas still contracting by approximately -0.47% year-on-year (yoy). This\nweakening differs from the general banking credit trend, particularly\nfor working capital, investment, and consumer loans, which are still\ngrowing positively. Thus, the decline in MSME credit indicates a\nfundamental problem in the MSME segment. \u201cInterestingly, our research\nfound that the main challenge currently does not lie in the limited\nsupply of credit from banks. On the contrary, the majority of MSME\nplayers have not applied for credit because they feel they do not yet\nneed funding and still rely on their own capital,\u201d said Perbanas\nChairman Hery Gunardi during a press conference on the MSME study\nresults at the Four Seasons Hotel, Thursday (18\/6\/2026). In fact, the\napproval rate for MSME credit applications at banks is relatively high.\nAccording to Hery, this shows that there is a structural problem that\nneeds joint attention. Aviliani, Head of Economic and Banking Research\nat Perbanas, continued that the current weakening of MSME credit is more\ndriven by the demand side or is demand-driven. The majority (nearly 90%)\nof formal and informal MSMEs do not apply for credit because they feel\nthey do not need loans as the main reason. Almost 90% of their business\nfinancing comes from personal funds (self-funded). This indicates that\nthe main problem of low access to MSME financing lies on the demand\nside. On the other hand, this research shows that the supply side of\nMSME financing is already very supportive. This is reflected in a survey\nfinding that when formal MSMEs apply for credit, the approval rate is\nvery high, at around 94.3%. \u201cWe don\u2019t want it to be like this; as banks,\nwe actually want to provide funding,\u201d said Aviliani. In addition,\nPerbanas found that other reasons for the continued decline in MSME\ncredit are shocks from costs and demand. The decrease in MSME credit is\nindicated by a combination of rising costs, weakening demand\/sales,\nsqueezed margins, and banks becoming more selective towards risk. As a\nform of support to strengthen the MSME sector, Perbanas launched the\nUMKM Center on Thursday (18\/6\/2026). Hery said he hopes the UMKM Center\ncan become a bridge connecting MSME players with the ecosystem they need\nto develop sustainably. \u201cWe believe that MSMEs that are more productive,\nformal, and bankable will become an important foundation for more\ninclusive and sustainable economic growth in Indonesia,\u201d said Hery.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/perbanas-reveals-structural-issues-behind-sluggish-msme-lending-1781787230",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}