Bank Commonwealth to open more branches

JAKARTA (JP): The Australia-based Bank Commonwealth, formerly known as Bank BII Commonwealth, will open four new branches this year as part of its expansion program.

The bank's president Llew Morris said on Tuesday that two new branches would be opened in Jakarta and two more in Surabaya and Medan.

He said the bank would also relocate its Jakarta head office, currently in the Plaza BII building, to Wisma Metropolitan in March this year.

"With this expansion, we expect our profits to jump a 100 percent to Rp 19.3 billion (US$2.05 million) from Rp 9.63 billion in 2000," he told a press briefing after the launching of the bank's new name.

The bank changed its name to Bank Commonwealth from Bank BII Commonwealth in September following the takeover of BII's 50 percent stake by its parent company Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Morris said the Australian bank controlled 99 percent of the bank while the remaining 1 percent was held by the bank's workers.

Bank Commonwealth, which was established in 1997 in cooperation with BII, has shown robust growth during the last three years.

The bank's total assets rose nearly 70 percent to Rp 999 billion in 2000 from Rp 594 billion in 1999. But its after-tax profits show a decline from Rp 12.96 billion in 1999 to Rp 9.63 billion in 2000.

Morris said the bank would focus on retail rather than corporate services as its major source of revenue.

The bank has adopted the strategy of its parent company in providing retail services in Indonesia, he said, adding that the Commonwealth Bank of Australia had successfully developed retail banking in Australia and New Zealand with customers reaching 10 million at the end of last year.

Morris said the bank had also allocated Rp 2 billion for promotions this year.

Director of Banking Product and Marketing Djumali Widjaja said Bank Commonwealth expected its customers to exceed 10,000 by the end of this year from 6,000 as a result of the expansion. (05)