Miranda to push banks to adopt int'l standards

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta

Miranda Swaray Goeltom was sworn in on Tuesday by the Supreme Court as the central bank's new senior deputy governor, saying that pushing domestic banks to apply international best practices would be among her top priorities.

Miranda, who replaces Anwar Nasution, was quick to add that Bank Indonesia would do its utmost to seek relief or reprieve from certain international rulings such as those spelled out in the Basel Accord II.

"It is important to reduce the impact (of these rulings). In essence, this is to protect our national interests and economy," Miranda said following the swearing-in ceremony, which was attended by central bank governor Burhanuddin Abdullah and Minister of Finance Boediono, among others.

"There are many international rulings that we can adopt, but there are specific situations special to Indonesia that allow us to ask for relief."

She did not elaborate on the type of relief, but there have been some complaints from bankers here over certain rulings that the central bank has introduced or plans to introduce in accordance with the Basel Accord II.

The rulings, which aim to boost banks' financial soundness, regulate banks' risk management, internal controls, prudent credit disbursement and capital management.

The central bank, for instance, has tightened a ruling on nonperforming loans (NPLs), setting the ratio of NPLs to a maximum of 5 percent of outstanding liabilities.

The central bank also has floated the idea of increasing the minimum required capital adequacy ratio (CAR) for banks to 12 percent from the current 8 percent.

Such rulings have elicited protests from some bankers, who say the country's banking sector, still feeling the pinch from the economic crisis, is not yet ready to face such tough rulings.

Miranda's remarks on Tuesday, if aimed at addressing these complaints, should be warmly welcomed by the bankers.

Miranda was appointed by the House of Representatives to replace Anwar, whose five-year term ended on July 27. She beat out two other candidates for the position: Budi Rochadi, the head of the central bank's representative office in Tokyo, and Hartadi A. Sarwono, a deputy governor at the central bank.

Miranda served as a deputy governor at Bank Indonesia from 1998 to May 2003.

When asked whether there was any rivalry between her and Burhanuddin, she replied: "There is no such thing. It is clear that we are on the same team and Pak Burhanuddin is the captain."

Both Miranda and Burhanuddin were among the candidates for the central bank's top post earlier in the year.