Thousands of BCA customers rush to branches, ATMs

Thousands of BCA customers rush to branches, ATMs

JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of customers of Bank Central Asia
(BCA) flocked to branches and automated teller machines (ATMs)
throughout the city yesterday and queued for hours to withdraw
their money.

The run on BCA trailed several days of heavy withdrawals from
the country's largest private bank, which is owned by the widely
diversified Salim Group and children of former president
Soeharto.

Yesterday's run was also prompted by the government's
announcement Thursday that the bank had been placed under the
control of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA).

The Jakarta Post observed BCA branches in Jatinegara, East
Jakarta; Matraman, Slipi and Sudirman, Central Jakarta and
Melawai in South Jakarta, which were all swamped by customers
from 8 a.m.

A woman who fainted at BCA Sudirman was assisted by security
officers and allowed to rest in one of the offices.

Some customers admitted queuing before 6 a.m. for a head start
on the crowds.

"I came here (to BCA Matraman) about 5:40 a.m. It was still
quiet. But a few minutes later people started coming and the
security officers told us to stand in line," Rachmiaty. S., an
employee of a private firm who skipped work yesterday, said.

She said she would try to withdraw all her money and deposit
it in one of the state banks.

"I work hard for my money. It's about Rp 4 million in total.
Maybe it sounds small to other people but it's worth a lot for
me."

Randita Pramudya, a customer at BCA Slipi, said he was
disappointed with the service.

"They closed the doors about 10 a.m.. We were forced to wait
outside."

Queues of people in front of BCA ATMs have become a daily
scene here over the last few days after massive student protests,
which resulted in former president Soeharto's resignation.

There were people who came to terminate their accounts and
there were also others who only wanted to withdraw money for
basic expenses.

"I haven't paid my mobile phone bill, my credit cards ... and
I don't have any money left," Gunawan, a resident of Tegalan,
Matraman, said.

"If people keep on coming like this, I'm afraid BCA could
collapse. I personally believe that the government would not
abandon BCA customers. As you know, BCA is the largest bank here.

"But the lining up and the run has started to get on my
nerves," the father of four said.

Yustika Indriyani, a small vendor in Jatinegara, had a similar
experience.

"I put money in the bank because I thought that it would be
safe. But who would have thought about this ... Well I'd better
just keep the money under the bed like I used to," she said,
using a newspaper to shade her head.

She said BCA customers were no longer high-class members of
society.

"I saw all of my friends here ... they are all common people.
There's Pak Trisuji, an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver near my
place," she said, waving.

BCA claimed 122 of its offices were damaged during the massive
rioting two weeks ago, including 17 of which where set on fire.
Dozens of its ATM facilities were also attacked by angry mobs
during the riots on May 14, dubbed Gray Thursday.

In a move to bolster confidence in the bank, BCA president
Abdullah Ali called a snap media conference Sunday to inform the
public that BCA's shareholders were still committed to the bank,
as was Bank Indonesia, the central bank.

BCA is owned by the Salim Group, which retains a 70 percent
majority stake and Soeharto's son Sigit Hardjojudanto and
daughter Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, who hold the remaining 30
percent.

"The bank will operate normally since Bank Indonesia has
guaranteed all deposits, including those at BCA," he said.

But his words did little to calm people's fears. People are
already too traumatized by the chaos and simply fear they will
lose their money.

"We need to keep cash. This country is falling apart. What is
left for little people like us?" Yustika asked. (edt)