Bank Indonesia Revises Loan Growth Target
Thursday, 21 December, 2006 | 12:39 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Bank Indonesia (BI) has revised the 2006 loan growth target once again as it has predicted that loan growth will only be between 11 and 13 percent this year.

“It is hard to meet the target of 13-15 percent. We think that 11 percent will be realistic enough,” said Muliaman D. Hadad, BI Director of Banking Research and Management yesterday (12/20) in Jakarta.

This was not the first time that BI has revised the loan growth target as earlier this year there have already been three revisions.

Initially, it was targeted that growth would reach between 20 and 22 percent.

Then, it was revised to 18-20 percent; and 15-18 percent; and 13 percent was the last revision.

Budi Mulia, BI Director of Strategic Planning, said that revisions of loan growth targets were affected by loan disbursement progress that has only been working during the last two months.

Up until the end of September, banks had only disbursed loans of 8.99 percent amounting to Rp728 trillion.

Up until mid December, the loan disbursement rate reached Rp758 trillion.

According to Budi, loan growth was not only affected by the will of banks in carrying out their intermediary function, but also by demands from the real sector.

He said he was still optimistic that the loan growth target of 18 percent next year would be achieved.

AGOENG WIJAYA