BNI gets government bonds

JAKARTA (JP): Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) has signed a management contract with the Ministry of Finance, paving the way for the publicly listed bank to join the government-sponsored recapitalization program.

BNI's corporate secretary, Sudirman, said on Saturday that under the contract signed on Friday, the bank would receive bonds worth Rp 61.8 trillion from the government to lift its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) to the minimum level of 4 percent.

About Rp 30 trillion of the total bonds would be issued this month, while the remaining Rp 31.8 trillion worth of bonds would be issued by June 30.

BNI, one of several major banks joining the recapitalization program, must follow strict management guidelines set by the government as part of the management contract agreement. (07)