BI disburses cheap credits

JAKARTA (JP): Bank Indonesia pledged on Friday to speed up the disbursement of liquidity credit for small-scale businesses and cooperatives, a key central bank official said on Friday.

"Several requirements which have placed a burden both on the banks and customers, including the legal lending limit requirement and conditions pertaining to banks' health will be reviewed," BI director Aulia Pohan said in a statement.

He was speaking in Bali at a gathering of the island's banking community.

Aulia said the measures would be taken to help the country's most vulnerable sector of the economy survive the crisis.

He did not give further details.

The central bank has doubled the size of cheap credit available in this fiscal year to help small businesses and cooperatives and to develop a food security program in the wake of the country's worst economic crisis in three decades.

Intermediary banks, however, have often complained about the various obstacles to channeling the cheap loans. (rei)