Bank merger questioned

JAKARTA (JP): Lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution has asked the central bank to clarify media reports that Bank Arta Pratama and Bank Artha Graha would merge soon because the present ownership of the former bank was still legally flawed and was being disputed through litigation.

Nasution, who represents PT Gunung Agung, the former owner of Bank Arta Pratama, said in a statement on Thursday that the legal process of the bank's acquisition by the Artha Graha Group in 1997 with the central bank's approval, had yet to be completed.

He questioned the truth of the media reports on the merger because the central bank's governor Sjahril Sabirin " told me at a recent meeting that Bank Indonesia has not even yet received a proposal from the two banks for a merger."