Ex-owner of Bank Surya, government reach deal
Ex-owner of Bank Surya, government reach deal
JAKARTA (JP): The country's financial authorities have signed
a deal with the former owner of closed down Bank Surya to return
Bank Indonesia's liquidity support, chairman of the Indonesian
Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) Glenn S. Yusuf said late on
Monday.
"We will announce it tomorrow," he told the media a few
minutes before a debate at the House of Representatives on the
government-proposed banking bill which would provide IBRA with
legal power to restructure the country's ailing banking sector.
Sudwikatmono, former controlling shareholder of Bank Surya,
and a cousin of Indonesia's former ruler Soeharto, has to pay
some Rp 1.9 trillion (US$172.72 million) in emergency funds
provided by the central bank.
Glenn did not explain whether the payment would be made in
assets or cash, but an official at the agency said that it would
be a combination of both.
Bank Surya was suspended by the government in April after
receiving large amounts of Bank Indonesia liquidity support from
early this year.
Nine other banks were also suspended in April and August, and
four were nationalized last month.
The bank, together with most of the other 13 banks which
received massive liquidity support, was found to have also
breached the 20 percent legal lending-to-affiliates limit,
prompting the government to force the ex-owners to repay the loan
by the midnight on Sept. 21 deadline.
Sudwikatmono, however, failed to meet the deadline, but
managed to organize last-minute negotiations with the authorities
to avoid criminal proceedings.
Timber tycoon Mohammad "Bob" Hasan, co-owner of suspended Bank
Umum Nasional, and property mogul Usman Admadjaja, former owner
of nationalized Bank Danamon, along with owners of the other nine
banks also failed to meet the Sept. 21 deadline.
Asked whether Bob Hasan and Usman Admadjaja had surrendered
enough assets to cover their loans, Glenn said: "They have waived
some assets, but we are still revaluing them."
He added that the tycoons claimed the assets were enough to
cover their obligations.
Bank Umum Nasional received more than Rp 6.8 trillion in
liquidity support, while Bank Danamon got Rp 25.8 trillion.
The Salim Group and the Gadjah Tunggal Group, two of the
country's largest conglomerates, were among those which managed
to make payments on their loans, totaling Rp 78 trillion, on
time.
The Salim family handed over some 100 companies to repay Rp 48
trillion in obligations, including some Rp 13 trillion to recover
Bank BCA's intra-group lending.
Bank Indonesia has provided liquidity support since January to
help banks hit by runs by panicked depositors to prevent a more
widespread collapse of the industry. (rei)