Transformation and Quality Growth Key to Financial Industry Resilience
The national financial industry is assessed to still have strong fundamentals amidst global economic uncertainty. However, changes in the business landscape and investor behaviour mean industry players must accelerate transformation to achieve sustainable growth.
President Director of Bank Jakarta, Agus H Widodo, said the fundamental condition of national banking remains well-maintained. This is reflected in positive credit growth, strong capital, adequate liquidity, and a low non-performing loan (NPL) ratio.
“The problem is not actually the fundamentals, but that the playing field has changed,” Agus said during a discussion entitled Shaping the Next Era of Indonesia’s Capital Market at Investor Day 2026 at the Indonesia Stock Exchange Building, Jakarta, Tuesday (30/6/2026).
According to Agus, the banking industry has faced various challenges in recent years, ranging from the Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical conflicts to changes in global trade policy. These conditions mean banks can no longer execute business strategies as they did previously.
Agus also highlighted the increasing pressure on the cost of funds. He revealed that deposit interest rates in interbank auctions had reached 11.5 percent, signalling a rise in the cost of raising funds for the banking industry.
In response to these conditions, Bank Jakarta is carrying out a transformation across various business aspects, from strengthening its business model and digitalising services to risk management and corporate culture.
As a bank majority-owned by the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government, Bank Jakarta is also developing its business by strengthening the local government ecosystem. Agus noted that the circulation of the regional budget within the DKI Jakarta administration is a potential source of business growth for the company.
In addition, Bank Jakarta is accelerating digital transformation through technology infrastructure upgrades, application development, and human resource competency enhancement. Strengthening risk management is also a focus, with Agus stating that the risks faced by the banking industry are increasingly diverse, extending beyond credit risk to include cybersecurity threats.
“Future risks will be increasingly multidimensional,” he said.
On the same occasion, Indonesia Stock Exchange Development Director Jeffry Hendrik emphasised the importance of improving investor quality to support the deepening of Indonesia’s capital market.
Jeffry said that together with the Financial Services Authority and self-regulatory organisations, the IDX continues to encourage increased market transparency, the provision of more detailed investor data, market deepening, and strengthened public disclosure.
“We believe that with better transparency, there will certainly be higher trust,” Jeffry said.
He noted that the number of domestic investors has surpassed 28 million. However, this increase in quantity must be accompanied by an improvement in quality to form a strong foundation for the capital market. Jeffry assessed that investors need to have adequate financial literacy and analytical skills, not just follow market trends.
“Able to conduct analysis, not just following what influencers say, not FOMO,” he said.
This message aligns with Bank Jakarta’s strategy of prioritising healthy and quality growth over aggressive expansion.