BBL expects to boost Mashill's operations
BBL expects to boost Mashill's operations
JAKARTA (JP): Belgium's Bank Brussels Lambert (BBL) said
yesterday its newly formed strategic alliance with Bank Mashill
would boost the retail banking and credit card services of its
Indonesian partner.
BBL's chief representative in Indonesia, Erik Versavel, said
his bank would help Bank Mashill compete in the fast growing
retail banking and credit card market.
"We have managed to compete in a very competitive market
globally, and we believe that our alliance will form a strong
banking synergy in the country," Versavel said.
He said he was optimistic that the cooperation would add value
to Bank Mashill based on Brussels' technology edge and
experienced management skill.
He did not say what BBL's next project with Bank Mashill after
the alliance would be.
"We are now in the process of assessing all the possibilities
of our synergy before we can take the next step," he said.
"We want to explore the capital market, retail banking, on
shore and offshore loans, trade finance, technology and
automatization," he said.
Last week, BBL, the third largest bank in Belgium, bought a 10
percent stake, or 18.5 million shares, in Bank Mashill.
The purchase allows the Belgian bank to form a strategic
alliance with Bank Mashill.
Versavel said the cooperation was part of the company's
expansion of its networks in Asia.
He said the bank chose Bank Mashill because of its strong
business plan and management.
The bank was recently ranked by InfoBank magazine as the
country's best bank, with assets over Rp 1.65 trillion
(US$676.22).
Bank Mashill, listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange, has a
network of 35 branches in Indonesia's seven major cities.
The bank focuses on financing the trade, industry, and
service sectors. It also provides services such as motorcycle
loans, credit cards and home mortgages.
Versavel said the growth and potential of Indonesia's gross
domestic product, its population and the growth of the middle
class prompted BBL's decision to expand its operation in the
country.
Bank Brussels is one of the world's top 100 banks.
Last year it booked a net profit of US$300 billion, up from
about US$255 in 1995.
The bank's assets rose to US$100 billion last year from about
US$92.14 billion in 1995. (das)