BI transfers four banks to IBRA

JAKARTA: Bank Indonesia announced Friday it had transferred the supervision of Bank Prima Express, Bank Patriot, Bank Universal and Bank Artha Media to the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA).

The transfer will pave the way for the merger of the four ailing banks with Bank Bali.

The central bank has previously said that the legal merger of the five banks could be completed within three months of the transfer.

The five banks are among the 11 private banks under the control of IBRA, who is in charge of rehabilitating the banks back into good financial shape before returning them to the private sector.

Merging local banks is seen as part of efforts to restructure the country's troubled banking industry.

At the peak of the 1997 financial crisis, IBRA assumed control of the banks after most of their loans turned sour. --JP