Bank Universal finalizes deal

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed Bank Universal said on Thursday it was expecting approval from Bank Indonesia and the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) for a financing deal that would raise its capital adequacy ratio to the minimum 8 percent later this year.

Bank Universal corporate secretary Ade R. Satari would not elaborate on the financing deal that he said had been worked out with the assistance of a financial consultant.

"We are optimistic our financing deal will be approved and this package will surely increase our capital adequacy ratio (CAR) to the minimum 8 percent," Satari said in a statement.

Satari issued the statement following Bank Indonesia deputy governor Miranda Goeltom's remarks on Wednesday, that the central bank would not back down on the capital requirement.

Miranda told reporters that nine banks had yet to meet the mandated capital standard and they would surely be closed if they failed to meet the 8 percent CAR.

In a related development, Bank Universal reported to the Jakarta Stock Exchange that its new lending in the first five months of this year had reached Rp 1.5 trillion and its net interest income amounted to Rp 104.58 billion, as against Rp 84.56 billion in the same period last year.

"We also cut down our non-performing loans to 10.94 percent as of May, from 31.23 percent a year earlier," Bank Universal president Stephen Z. Satyahadi said.