BRI Chief Responds to Purbaya's Refusal to Extend SAL Fund Tenor

President Director of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, Hery Gunardi, has responded to Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa’s statement rejecting an extension of the placement tenor for the Excess Budget Balance (SAL) funds in state-owned banks. The Chairman of the Indonesian National Banks Association (Perbanas) said the banking sector would follow the government’s direction. “We will just follow the Minister’s direction,” Hery said when met at Menara Radius Prawiro, Jakarta, on Tuesday, 14 July 2026. The Ministry of Finance has decided to re-place SAL funds amounting to Rp 281 trillion in banks belonging to the state-owned bank association (Himbara) after previously withdrawing the funds in stages. The government will also add Rp 100 trillion in standby funds, planned to be placed in Himbara until the end of 2026.

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa had previously rejected Himbara’s request to extend the SAL fund placement tenor to one year. According to Purbaya, the current scheme already provides adequate flexibility to meet banking liquidity needs, while a tenor extension could disrupt the government’s readiness to anticipate funding needs outside the budget plan. “So, the Rp 200 trillion is until the end of the year, the Rp 100 trillion is reviewed every three months, and the other Rp 100 trillion is flexible, moving in and out. Because we also need to anticipate if the government needs funds,” Purbaya told reporters at the DPR Building on Tuesday, 7 July 2026.

Responding to the push and pull over SAL funds in Himbara, Chief Executive of Banking Supervision at the Financial Services Authority (OJK), Dian Ediana Rae, stated that sound liquidity management requires predictability and adequate planning from all parties involved in the placement. Dian explained that changes in fund positions—both placements and withdrawals—can be carried out in a planned manner with sufficient notification to allow banks time to adjust their funding strategies. “Thus, the dynamics of these fund flows can be managed optimally without disrupting the stability of our financial system,” Dian said during a monthly board of commissioners press conference on Tuesday, 7 July 2026. He added that liquidity management must be based on good governance and risk management principles while considering the characteristics of funding sources.