Bank Indonesia to Aggressively Issue SRBI to Safeguard the Rupiah

Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo has revealed plans to ramp up the issuance of Bank Indonesia Rupiah Securities (SRBI) once again. He described this policy as a response to the impacts of the conflict between the United States (US) and Israel with Iran, which has caused high volatility in global financial markets, leading to pressure on the rupiah’s exchange rate and outflows of foreign capital. “Therefore, why now for 2026 we will start increasing SRBI is so that we can balance the needs to stabilise the rupiah’s exchange rate, intervene, and ensure that outflows are not too severe,” Perry said during a working meeting with Commission XI of the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta on Wednesday (8/4/2026). However, Perry has not yet disclosed the targeted volume for ramping up SRBI issuance by the end of this year. Nevertheless, this policy will reverse the direction of SRBI policy, which was actually relaxed further in 2025. Last year, Perry said, BI continuously reduced the volume of SRBI issuance by Rp 192.64 trillion, from Rp 923.53 trillion on 31 December 2024 to Rp 730.89 trillion on 31 December 2025. The aim was to encourage banks to extend credit amid abundant liquidity from the SRBI reduction. Then, in January 2026, there was an increase in SRBI issuance to Rp 755 trillion. This continued in February 2026 to Rp 837 trillion, and as of 30 March 2026, it stood at Rp 831 trillion. Meanwhile, by increasing the volume of SRBI issuance, BI is absorbing liquidity from financial institutions to bolster foreign exchange reserves. Perry stated that this policy will align with a narrowing scope for BI Rate reductions to maintain exchange rate stability. “The SRBI, which we reduced rapidly last year, indeed requires us to recalibrate so as to attract inflows while still maintaining sufficient liquidity; we are keeping M0 growth in double digits, even at 13.3%,” Perry emphasised.