Bank Mandiri aims to become an international bank: Official
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.