SME Lending is Challenging: How BRI Manages Risk

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BBRI) has revealed strategies for managing its SME credit portfolio amid global uncertainties. BRI’s President Director, Hery Gunardi, stated that the bank continues to prudently monitor potential risks. Nevertheless, BRI believes that its business structure, based on the SME segment, provides relatively good resilience. Hery explained that this is due to its granular nature, not concentrated in a single segment, with small individual amounts, unlike corporate credit portfolios that can reach trillions of rupiah. He said the state-owned bank still conducts tight monitoring of several sectors that are highly sensitive to global dynamics. “Such as sectors related to export commodities, for example, then sectors directly impacted by fluctuations in energy and exchange rates. These are also our concerns,” Hery clarified during the virtual press conference on BRI’s Q1 2026 Performance Report, Thursday (30/4/2026). Furthermore, BRI maintains asset quality, reflected in stable non-performing loan (NPL) ratios and continuous improvements in loan-at-risk ratios. Hery noted that this is inseparable from the implementation of disciplined risk management, including selective growth, ongoing portfolio monitoring, and strengthening early warning signals. “So we also place risk management at the forefront. Risk management, of course, will initially determine the risk acceptance criteria (RAC). So the business will enter which segments, then which sub-segments, with measured and maintained RAC. This is important so that we have a pattern for entering segments that we believe still have good profitability, or also good quality,” Hery stated. Looking ahead, BRI will continue to pay attention to and promote the principle of prudence, or prudential banking, as well as good corporate governance. Hery emphasised that the bank remains committed to balancing business growth and asset quality. “Of course we want to grow, we want to grow, but grow healthily, grow sustainably. And this balance must be maintained, not just increasing in volume, but the quality must also be good. If the volume increases but the quality is not maintained, it’s just waiting for time, it will reap a storm later,” he said. On the same occasion, BRI’s Risk Management Director, Ety Yuniarti, stated that BRI’s credit and financing disbursements grew by double digits in Q1 2026, accompanied by continuous improvements in asset quality. This is reflected in quarterly improvements in the NPL ratio. Ety said this achievement is due to the risk management strategies implemented throughout 2025 starting to run effectively. Namely, selective credit growth strategies, strengthening early warning systems in detailed segments, and optimising collection and recovery functions. In addition, loan-at-risk (LAR) also showed annual improvements. Ety noted that this decline reflects the increasingly better quality of new credit bookings, especially in BRI’s retail segment, which previously faced quality challenges. On the other hand, Ety said BRI continues to maintain the bank’s resilience in anticipating credit risks. This is reflected in the NPL coverage ratio, which is maintained at nearly 180%, and the LAR coverage ratio around 55%. “The consistency of the stable trend for both ratios illustrates the discipline in maintaining risk provisioning levels as part of implementing prudent risk management. The wide network distribution also supports our ability to diversify the portfolio, so we are confident that BRI relatively has good resilience in facing economic dynamics,” Ety explained.