Bank Bali service charms big depositors

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed Bank Bali said on Friday its newly launched private banking service has received a positive response from wealthy customers.

The bank's executive director, Budi T. Halim, said nearly 100 customers with large accounts at the bank had benefited from the new service, which was introduced early in March.

He said the new service, called Bali Priva Priority Banking, allowed depositors to use a meeting room, consultancy room and executive lounge equipped with a television on which to monitor movements on the stock exchange.

Budi said customers with deposit or savings accounts containing a minimum of Rp 500 million (US$63,300) would qualify for the new service.

"Our best customers are entitled to services beyond mere banking transactions," he told reporters in a media conference.

He said the new service had good immediate prospects, with many wealthy individuals now starting to move their savings out of time deposits as the banking industry shows signs of recovery.

The bank is also convinced that many people who invested in property before the crisis will now turn to bank products in their search for safer investments, he said.

"We see that many wealthy individuals are changing the way they manage their finances and now want to put their idle money in the bank. Bank Bali does not want to be left behind. Some foreign banks have already moved to take advantage of this trend at the top end of the market," he added.

Bank Bali, one of nine private banks included in the government's recapitalization program, has a total of 400,000 accounts in Jakarta and 1.2 million accounts nationwide.

The United Kingdom-based Standard Chartered Bank agreed last month to buy a 20 percent stake in Bank Bali for approximately US$56 million. (udi)