Three of Bakrie Group's banks to merge

JAKARTA (JP): The chairman of the Bakrie Group, Aburizal Bakrie, said yesterday the group's banks, Bank Nasional, Bank Perniagaan and Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional, would merge in efforts to strengthen their capital and operations.

Aburizal said the merge would support the government's program to restore the banking sector to a stronger footing.

But he did not say when the merger would take place.

Bakrie Capital Indonesia, a finance subsidiary of the Bakrie Brothers Group, bought Bank Perniagaan for Rp 200 billion last March. The bank's lendings outstanding as of August totaled Rp 1.44 trillion and its assets as of June amounted to Rp 1.7 trillion.

Bank Nasional posted Rp 1.2 trillion in total assets as of early this year and Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional Rp 1.2 trillion.

Early this year, the group announced it would merge Bank Nasional and the newly acquired Bank Perniagaan by at the end of the year.

He added that the banks must now begin to establish synergy among themselves through merger and acquisition to restore the ailing condition in the sector.

"There is nothing else that could be done about the closed banks. We must now concentrate on revamping the existing ones," he said, adding that large banks must acquire smaller banks.

The government shut down 16 ailing private banks last week, as part of an economic reform agreed with the International Monetary Funds.

The closure shocked not only bank customers but also politically-connected bank owners, who had begun to fight against the closure decision through the State Administrative Court.

Aburizal called on the government to time and again reassure the general public that there would be no more bank liquidation.

"We need a firm and public announcement by the government, in order to restore the public's confidence," he said.

The central bank has assured the banking community that there would be no more bank shut-downs following last week's closure.

Aburizal said another Bakrie's bank, Bank Nusa, might merge in the long run after the merger of the three banks.

He said had received a notification from the central bank, Bank Indonesia, certifying that Bank Nusa was healthy. (das)