Permata lowers loan target after request rejected<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Bank Permata will revise downward its lending target for this
\nyear after the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA)
\nrejected the publicly listed bank's plans to raise cash through a
\nrights issue or bonds.<\/p>\n
Bank Permata vice president Chandra Purnama told reporters on
\nWednesday that the medium-sized bank would not be able to meet
\nits new loan target of Rp 3 trillion by the end of the year.<\/p>\n
\"Without the sub-debt bonds issue, our credit expansion will
\nbe a bit disrupted. We'll revise the target, but I cannot give a
\nfigure yet -- it's still being calculated,\" Chandra said on the
\nsidelines of a seminar here.<\/p>\n
Permata is a merger of five banks -- Bank Universal, Bank
\nBali, Bank Patriot, Bank Artamedia and Bank Prima Express. With
\ntotal assets of around Rp 29 trillion, the bank is currently
\nincluded in the country's top-ten list.<\/p>\n
The bank had planned to launch a rights issue or bonds to
\nraise cash to boost its capital adequacy ratio (CAR). A higher
\nCAR level would allow the bank to increase its loan exposure
\nwithout undermining its capital position.<\/p>\n
But IBRA, which owns a majority stake in the bank following a
\ngovernment bailout using public funds, rejected the plan.
\nApproving the rights issue plan would mean that IBRA, a
\ngovernment agency, would have to use public funds again to
\nexercise its rights in order to maintain the same level of
\nownership.<\/p>\n
The agency has told Permata's management to concentrate on
\nincreasing profitability as a way of improving the bank's capital
\nposition.<\/p>\n
As of the first semester of this year, Permata booked a Rp
\n151.4 billion net profit, up from Rp 47.8 billion in the same
\nperiod last year.<\/p>\n
The bank is now 97.67 percent owned by IBRA, in return for
\naround Rp 11 trillion-worth of recap bonds it injected into the
\nbank, while the public holds the remaining 2.33 percent.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/permata-lowers-loan-target-after-request-rejected-1447893297",
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