BI to complete tests for top bankers soon
BI to complete tests for top bankers soon
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The central bank is expected to complete its major reshuffle
plans next week in the top management of some state banks.
Bank Indonesia (BI) director for bank information and
licensing Siti C. Fadjrijah said on Wednesday the central bank
had begun conducting a series of fit-and-proper tests on about
100 bankers from a government list.
"We have started interviewing between 10 and 12 of the bankers
a day since yesterday," she said.
"We expect to complete the selection process before the first
of the banks' shareholder meetings on May 16."
Bank Mandiri, among the state banks whose management will most
likely be reshuffled, is scheduled to hold its annual
shareholders' meeting on that date.
The management shake-up in Mandiri follows the recent high-
profile disclosures of alleged lending scams in the bank.
Another state bank, Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), will hold its
annual shareholders' meeting on May 19, while Bank Negara
Indonesia (BNI) and Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) will hold theirs
later this month and in June, respectively.
Excluding Mandiri, the reshuffles in other banks are likely to
come for less controversial reasons, the primary one being
replacing incumbent directors who have reached retirement age.
However, analysts say the across-the-board changes could still
cause some fireworks, considering the strategic position of
heading a state-owned bank that manages trillions of rupiah worth
of assets.
Siti said the fit-and-proper tests were only conducted on new
nominees, while incumbent directors were not being interviewed.
"From the list of bankers I received, not all of the directors
will be replaced," she said.
Siti would not mention which bankers would remain, which she
said was a decision to be made by the government.
After the selection process, BI will hand back the list of
nominee bankers to the government, which will then select the new
directors in each of the banks' shareholders' meetings.
Siti, who the House of Representatives recently elected as the
central bank's new deputy governor for bank supervision, also
declined to reveal the central bank's latest evaluation of the
directors' performance.
"The important point is that we will increase our supervision,
conducting fit and proper tests before they assume their offices,
and regularly every two years afterwards," she said.
Meanwhile, banking analyst Aviliani said the selection process
for the directors and commissioners of state-owned banks should
be made more transparent, to avoid the political interference
that would later undermine the performance of officials in
managing the banks.
"The government could for example follow the process of how
state university rectors are elected, taking in nominees in an
open and public manner," she said.