Encouraging state-owned banks to become the locomotive of national investment

Behind every successful economic leap a country makes, there is a financial system capable of performing its intermediation function effectively — collecting public funds and channelling them to sectors that create added value, increase productivity, and generate employment. In this context, banking is not merely a financial institution, but an instrument of development that determines the direction of national economic transformation. This momentum resurfaced when President Prabowo Subianto gave directives to state-owned banks under the Association of State-Owned Banks (Himbara) at the Presidential Palace last June. As business actors and economic instruments, state-owned banks are positioned not just as business entities, but as strategic instruments to accelerate economic growth and broaden public welfare. The President stressed that the success of state-owned banks cannot be measured solely by the size of their profits, but also by their contribution to expanding business opportunities, improving economic equality, and accelerating national growth. This directive reflects a fairly fundamental paradigm shift. As the country seeks to accelerate industrialisation, natural resource downstreaming, food self-sufficiency, housing development, the energy transition, and the strengthening of the digital economy, the measure of success must be complemented by another equally important indicator: the extent to which banking intermediation can drive productive economic activity, including by utilising strategic national assets to spur economic growth through strengthened governance, consolidation, and value addition.