Minister names new Bapepam, IBRA chiefs
JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Finance replaced eight top- ranking officials yesterday, including the chairman of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) and the head of the Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam).
New IBRA chairman is Glenn M.S. Yusuf, former director general of financial institutions, who replaces Iwan R. Prawiranata. The latter will now serve only as a director at the central bank.
Bapepam is now led by Jusuf Anwar, former head of the education and training center (BPLK) at the Ministry of Finance.
Jusuf replaces I Putu Gede Ary Suta, who was transferred as an expert to the minister of finance.
Other new senior officials are director general of excise and duty Martiono Hadianto, director general of financial institutions Susiati B. Hirawan, head of the monetary and financial analysis body Noor Fuad, head of BPLK Arie Soelendro and state revenue expert Suhadi Hadiwijoyo.
Minister of Finance Bambang Subianto also reshuffled 35 second-echelon officials at the finance ministry.
He said the measure was needed to deal with the country's economic crisis, including to speed up the bank restructuring process, maintain state revenues at a "good level" and implement the new law on nontax income.
"These are difficult tasks considering the severe condition of the economy," he said.
To help in accelerating the bank restructuring process, he said IBRA's new chairman would no longer be responsible for two jobs as in the past, in which the former chairman also served as a director at Bank Indonesia.
He stressed the government would maintain the existence of IBRA, whose sole duty is to restore the country's troubled banks.
Many earlier criticized IBRA's overlapping role with the central bank, and urged the agency's operation to be terminated.
IBRA's role would be to find ways to revive the ailing banks both those under its supervision or those outside the agency, Bambang said.
"Through IBRA, the stronger banks are expected to be able to help the weaker ones." He added that one of the ways was for stronger institutions to assume the bad assets of troubled banks.
He explained that due diligence of internationally accepted standards was being implemented to gauge the real position of all domestic banks, including their loan loss provision level and capital condition.
The government last week eased the bank capital requirements, in which the minimum capital adequacy ratio (CAR) requirement was halved to 4 percent from the earlier target of 8 percent to be fulfilled by the end of this year.
"We're just trying to be realistic. Amid the current economic condition, most of our banks are finding difficulty in meeting the previously high CAR level," he said, referring to criticism of the decision to lower the CAR requirements.
CAR requirements to be fulfilled by the end of 1999 and 2000 were lowered to 8 percent and 10 percent respectively. (rei)