Bank facts

The boards of directors and commissioners are very disappointed with the misleading article in the Business and Investment section of the Jan. 10 The Jakarta Post.

Although a Reuters article, the headline your newspaper chose and some of the contents were open to misinterpretation. Accordingly, the directors want to assure that your readers appreciate the facts:

* PT Bank BII Commonwealth is a 50/50 joint venture between Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). BII is the fourth largest domestic private bank and CBA (long-term rated AA-) is the 25th largest bank in Asia.

* The bank commenced commercial operations July 1, 1997, and is successfully building a customer base.

* Although the initial ambitious business plans have had to be modified to adapt to current economic realities, longer term prospects are still seen as extremely positive.

* The bank is highly liquid, profitable and the timing of entry will protect it from loan losses that may be faced by the banking industry generally.

* Expansion into retail banking operations will proceed as planned early this year.

The bank has established a solid footing and offers a very attractive banking alternative to Indonesian depositors seeking security and safety for their savings.

BILL FOXLEE

President Director

Bank BII Commonwealth

Jakarta