Bank facts

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