Govt to replace BRI, BTN management

Govt to replace BRI, BTN management

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The government plans to reshuffle the top management of state-
owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN)
in the very near future to help improve the banks' performance, a
senior government official said.

Suad Husnan, deputy for the banking and finance industry at
the Office of the State Minister of State Enterprises, said
management changes at state enterprises under his supervision
would be conducted immediately for BRI and BTN.

"The tenure of the management of BRI and BTN will expire next
year, as they have served for four years. We need to rejuvenate
the banks by putting in new people," said Suad at his office on
Thursday.

Suad said the reshuffle would be conducted during the annual
shareholders meeting and after the two banks completed their 2004
audited financial reports The meeting is scheduled for February
or March next year.

State Minister of State Enterprises Sugiharto has previously
said the ministry would not immediately change the management of
state enterprises prior to the scheduled shareholders meeting.

Suad, however, refused to name the candidates.

At present, the post of BRI president director is held by
Rudjito, who took over the helm in July 2000. Rudjito, 58, has
been successful in launching the bank's initial public offering
(IPO) last year and helping the bank form its corporate culture.

However, several financial leakages at the bank and fraud
conducted by bank officials due to the weak internal supervision
have blurred his success.

Meanwhile, the current president director post at BTN is held
by Kodradi, who assumed the post in May 2000. Kodradi have been
struggling to make BTN an efficient bank that mainly focuses on
housing loans.

Interest rates offered by BTN for housing loans are currently
still significantly higher compared to those offered by private
banks, discouraging the public from taking the mortgage facility
offered by the banks.

Regarding a possible reshuffle in other state banks, such as
Bank Negara Indonesia and Bank Mandiri, Suad said there were no
plans for that yet, since the management of the two banks had
been recently appointed.