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Bank Indonesia is to set up series of "regional banking
research centers" to help banks in the regions better assess local
economic conditions and expand lending to prospective sectors.
BI's regional offices in North Sumatra and South Sulawesi have already
established such centers, in partnership respectively with the research
center of North Sumatra University's School of Economics, and
Hasanuddin University's Local Economic and Banking Sector Research
Institute, BI deputy governor Muliaman D. Hadad said Tuesday.
Two other centers are also being planned in collaboration with Andalas
University in West Sumatra and Brawijaya University in Malang, East
Java, Muliaman said.
He was speaking during a workshop to mark the official launching of the
North Sumatra and South Sulawesi research centers.
The establishment of such research centers is part of a BI package of
eight policies for the banking industry this year -- besides the
introduction of merger incentives and relaxation of loan criteria -- as
part of the effort to bring about overall consolidation in the sector.
BI Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah stressed the importance of the centers
in providing comprehensive information on each region's economic
conditions and potential, which banks could then use in formulating
appropriate credit schemes according to their capabilities and the
needs of local businesses.
Apart from providing such an "economic map", Muliaman said the centers
would also help improve and speed up loan disbursement in the regions
by shortening the bureaucratic chain involved in loan approvals.
"A decentralized concept of loan approvals has long been under
discussion. There has, for example, been concern expressed by
businesses and bank branches in eastern Indonesia about how approval
for loans has to be sought from Jakarta head offices if the loans
exceed a certain threshold," he said.
"With these research centers, we expect that local bankers will be able
to upgrade their skills and be permitted to approve and manage loans."
Muliaman said the new centers would also help ensure adherence to
prudential-banking principals, and permit wider credit access to small
and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Presenting its preliminary assessment, the South Sulawesi research
center suggested the setting up of a loan guarantee agency for SMEs
that faced difficulties in providing enough collateral to cover their
loans, and that particular focus be placed on the potential of the
region's SMEs operating in the fisheries industry.
The North Sumatra research center, meanwhile, revealed that although
most parts of the province have access to the banking sector, greater
credit access was needed in a number of remote areas.
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