BRI President Director: Credit Acceleration Requires Demand-Side Strengthening
Jakarta (ANTARA) — President Director of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, Hery Gunardi, has stated that the acceleration of credit disbursement currently requires strengthening on the demand side by convincing business actors to resume expansion.
In an official statement received in Jakarta on Friday, Hery said the current challenge lies not in the supply of funds but in business confidence and the outlook for future enterprise.
“What is needed is not merely additional liquidity, but the strengthening of business confidence so that expansion can resume,” Hery said.
He explained that, fundamentally, the banking industry has adequate room to support credit growth going forward in a prudent and sustainable manner.
On the liquidity front, third-party fund growth has strengthened to 11.4 per cent year-on-year, with the loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) maintained at around 84 per cent. Industry capitalisation also remains robust, with the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) standing at 26 per cent — well above the regulator’s minimum threshold.
“Nevertheless, year-on-year credit growth through to December 2025 remains at single-digit levels. According to Bank Indonesia, one of the factors behind the current credit slowdown is the demand side,” Hery said.
Bank Indonesia data show that new credit demand has declined across most segments, particularly in consumer lending, which fell from 62.9 per cent to 13.4 per cent, and in the MSME segment, which dropped from 78.4 per cent to 58.8 per cent. Meanwhile, undisbursed loans have risen on average to 10.22 per cent.
“This means that credit facilities already approved by banks, as well as available liquidity, are in fact still adequate — yet actual drawdowns are being held back. This reflects the wait-and-see attitude of both the business community and individual household borrowers,” Hery said.
At the same time, the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio for MSMEs has been rising since December 2024 and remains at elevated levels, indicating that cash-flow pressures on MSME operators have not fully recovered.
The combination of weakening growth and rising credit risk demands a more selective, risk-mitigation-based approach.
Hery also highlighted that the slowdown in credit growth is inseparable from the deceleration of the three main GDP-contributing sectors: manufacturing, trade and agriculture.
These three sectors not only make a substantial contribution to the national economy but also absorb labour on a broad scale, meaning any slowdown has a direct impact on business activity and financing needs.
Manufacturing, which contributes nearly 20 per cent to GDP, is a critical determinant of working capital and investment requirements. Trade, meanwhile, is heavily dependent on public purchasing power — when consumption weakens, stock turnover slows and credit demand is suppressed.
The agricultural sector, as the largest base for employment, has a direct link to the micro and MSME segments, so pressures in this sector are quickly reflected in credit demand at the small-business level.
These conditions demonstrate that credit growth remains highly sensitive to the economic cycle, in line with the national credit structure being dominated by labour-intensive sectors such as manufacturing, trade and agriculture.
“This means the current credit moderation is not solely a liquidity issue. Even though the government has injected Rp200 trillion in additional liquidity, conditions are heavily influenced by the sectoral structure of our economy. Going forward, diversification and increased financing in high-value-added sectors will be key to reducing cyclical sensitivity,” Hery said.
He assessed that current fiscal and monetary policies are on a credible, pro-growth trajectory, with the majority of business actors showing optimism about the economic outlook.
However, that optimism has not yet been fully translated into accelerated real expansion at the corporate level. A number of business actors remain cautious and have not reached a sufficient level of confidence to accelerate investment or expansion.
“Going forward, the focus needs to shift from narratives of optimism to acceleration of implementation that is genuinely felt by the business community,” Hery said.