Bank Mandiri aims to become an international bank: Official
Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The giant state-owned Bank Mandiri is considering a number of measures including possible mergers with other banks in a bid to become an international bank in the future, according to a senior official.
Bank Mandiri president commissioner Binhadi said on Friday that such measures were aimed at boosting the bank's capital to Rp 50 trillion (US$5.88 billion) in the next 10 years.
The central bank has required that a bank must at least have the above capital level to operate as an international bank.
"They are being prepared. We wish first to be a domestic power, and then expand outside," Binhadi said on the sidelines of a ceremony, in which the bank was awarded the ISO 9001:2000 certificate.
Bank Indonesia has recently unveiled the Indonesian Banking Landscape, a blueprint of the country's banking sector reform program focused on the next 10 years.
In the plan, the minimum capital requirement for banks operating domestically will be increased 10-fold from Rp 10 billion to Rp 100 billion. It also projects that Indonesia will have two or three international banks with capital of more than Rp 50 trillion.
Only two banks -- Bank Central Asia (BCA) and Bank Mandiri -- have a capital level of higher than Rp 10 trillion each.
"(Our) capital currently stands at Rp 22 trillion," said Binhadi. "One of the ways to accelerate (capital growth) is by having another merger."
Bank Mandiri was formed in 1998 through a merger of four state-owned banks including Bank Ekspor Impor Indonesia (Bank Exim), Bank Dagang Negara (BDN), Bank Bumi Daya (BBD) and Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo). The soon-to-be dissolved Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) ordered the merger as part of its efforts to revive the collapsed banking sector.
However, a merger was not included in Mandiri's current 2003- 2007 plan, Binhadi added.
Other ways to raise capital included issuing new shares, said Binhadi. "But it will be done in time, because we still have sufficient capital now," he confirmed.
Apart from the strategic excellence of going international, the bank also strived to improve its operational excellence, said Zulkifli Zaini, managing director of Bank Mandiri.
"Clearly, part of being an international bank is to meet international standards," he said.
Therefore, Bank Mandiri has propped up its document management to qualify for an ISO 9001:2000 certificate, awarded by PT Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance.
"Other divisions are also planned to be surveyed for ISO certification this year," he said.