Supporting the People's Economy, State-Owned Banks Have the Opportunity to Boost Profits
Support for the people’s economy and the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) sector is not only part of the development mandate but also has the potential to improve the performance of state-owned banks. Researcher at the Centre for Macroeconomics and Finance of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance, Abdul Manap Pulungan, assesses that strengthening financing for sectors related to government programmes can actually become a source of profit growth for Himbara banks.
According to him, amid global economic pressures, several sectors connected to government priority programmes remain stable. MSMEs continue to receive support, including in the form of guarantees, making them a relatively resilient segment.
“Himbara has recorded significant profits. As agents of development, they must support government programmes, but this also has a positive impact on their business fundamentals,” he said.
Manap explained that involvement in government programmes encourages banks to expand into previously untapped regions. In the long term, this step can broaden the customer base while opening up opportunities for increased revenue.
However, he cautioned that such expansion should be measured and not sacrifice credit portfolio quality.
“Support for government programmes must not ignore business aspects. Credit disbursement must remain prudent because it will impact future profits and asset quality,” he said.
Manap also emphasised the importance for state-owned banks to remain focused on sectors they have mastered, to maintain stability in non-performing loan (NPL) ratios.
“If they are too aggressive in entering high-risk sectors they have not mastered, it could affect profit performance and NPL in subsequent periods,” he added.
One example of implementing this strategy is seen in Bank Mandiri, which has recorded solid performance through credit disbursement to productive sectors.
As of February 2026, Bank Mandiri’s credit reached Rp1,513.1 trillion, or 15.7% year-on-year (YoY) growth, followed by third-party funds (DPK) of Rp1,644.8 trillion, up 16.3% YoY.
“Bank Mandiri’s net profit grew 16.7% YoY to Rp8.9 trillion as of February 2026, driven by increased commission-based income from digital services,” said Director of Finance & Strategy at Bank Mandiri, Novita Widya Anggraini.
With such solid fundamentals, Bank Mandiri is optimistic about maintaining sustainable growth while strengthening its role as a strategic partner of the government in driving national economic strengthening.