Bank Pacific ties with Bank BNI strategic

JAKARTA (JP): Bank Pacific, which is controlled by the Ibnu Sutowo family, said yesterday that its alliance with state-owned Bank BNI is strategic for accelerating the development of its operations, management and human resources.

"We decided to choose Bank BNI, the largest bank in the country, as our strategic alliance under a technical assistance agreement," Bank Pacific's president Endang Utari Mokodompit said.

Endang, accompanied by directors Kosasih Wikanta and Hikmat Kartadjoemena and commissioner Sutomo Sunartadirdja, made the explanations to correct what she referred to as "misinterpretations" of a news release from the central bank on Tuesday evening.

The central bank, Bank Indonesia, which owns 38.25 percent of Bank Pacific, said it had asked Bank BNI to provide technical and managerial assistance to Bank Pacific and Bank Yama in order to improve their operations and management.

Endang said the management of Bank Pacific had felt the need to form a strategic alliance for some time, in order to cope with keener competition in the domestic and international banking industry.

"We decided to ask for technical and managerial assistance from Bank BNI because we think its system of operations and management can contribute to accelerating the development of our own system and human resources," Endang said.

Bank Pacific reported total assets of Rp 2.27 trillion (US$1.02 billion) as of June and posted a net profit of Rp 16.14 billion in the first half of this year.

"We expect the profit to reach between Rp 38 billion and Rp 40 billion for the whole year, including earnings from non-operating revenues," Sutomo said.

Endang said she hoped the technical assistance from Bank BNI would speed up the improvement of Bank Pacific's system of operations, management and human resources so that it could implement its plan to go public. (vin)