Govt to pay Asiatic, BDB depositors soon
Urip Hudiono/Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Denpasar
The government said on Monday it would pay the depositors of the closed down Bank Dagang Bali (BDB) and Bank Asiatic within two weeks, as more than 100 depositors held a peaceful rally in front of Bank Indonesia's Denpasar office.
Director General of Financial Institutions Darmin Nasution said the government was in the process of verifying the depositors.
"The government will screen out any depositors who are affiliated with the banks' controlling owners or management and will not compensate them," Darmin said.
Compensation for such depositors, Darmin said, would be taken from funds obtained through the sale of the banks' assets, and only after the funds were used to meet the banks' other liabilities, including state taxes and employee remuneration.
The money to compensate the banks' other depositors, meanwhile, will come from reserve funds in the government's 502 account or 519 account.
Darmin said BDB depositors would be compensated in several stages -- starting with small deposits -- due to the bank's large number of depositors.
The Denpasar-based BDB currently has 408,000 depositors, while the Jakarta-based Bank Asiatic has 2,200 depositors.
The government must provide some Rp 2.39 trillion (US$281 million) in cash to cover the two banks' depositors as part of its blanket guarantee program.
Bank Indonesia (BI) closed down Asiatic and BDB last Thursday due to their worsening financial conditions, allegedly the result of violations of prudential banking regulations and fictitious transactions worth Rp 1.2 trillion.
Nervous BDB depositors in Denpasar held a demonstration at the local office of the central bank to demand that the banking authority provide clarification about the fate of their money.
In a convoy of motorbikes, the protesters left BDB's central office in downtown Denpasar and moved to the BI office on Jl. WR Supratman in eastern Denpasar.
"I am upset and confused. I want to be able to take my deposited money as soon as possible but I don't know how to do it," land broker Made Parma, 45, said.
Parma said he had over Rp 300 million in his account at BDB.
Another protester, I Putu Patra, 35, exhibited his bank book, which showed that his last deposit was on March 26, bringing his account to Rp 10 million.
"Do you think I will get my money back? That money is supposed to be my kids' college money," he said.
The head of the Denpasar branch of BI, Lukman Boenjamin, assured the crowd that their deposits were guaranteed and they would receive all of their money.
Founded in 1970 by Bali businessman I Gusti Made Oka, BDB grew into one of the largest banks on the island.
The bank was popular for its regular prize-drawings and scholarship programs for depositors' children.