REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DENPASAR -- Bank Indonesia (BI) asked the Regional Development Bank (BPD) and national private banks to immediately reduce their loan interest rates. This step is to follow the cut in the benchmark interest rate carried out by the central bank.
Governor of Bank Indonesia Perry Warjiyo said the reduction in credit interest rates was carried out to encourage the recovery of the national economy which was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Now only BPD and other private banks have not lowered their lending rates. Please, lowering interest rates, so that we continue to boost our economy," he said during the National Economic Recovery Acceleration Workshop, Friday (9/4).
Currently, the association of state-owned banks (Himbara) has been able to reduce credit interest rates, including Bank Mandiri, BRI, BNI and BTN, which have set the basic lending rate (SBDK) in the single digit range.
The basic lending rate for Himbara banks directly fell from 10 percent to 8.7 percent. BI would like to thank the SOE Ministry for pushing down interest rates at state-owned banks.
Perry said that Bank Indonesia has lowered the BI 7 Days Reverse Repo Rate to a level of 3.50 percent. Throughout 2020, the central bank has lowered its policy rate by 125 basis points (bps), thus pushing the average overnight interbank money market (PUAB) interest rate to 3.04 percent.
Bank Indonesia has also relaxed the other macroprudential side by issuing a zero percent down payment policy for auto loans and a 100 percent Loan to Value (LTV) ratio for property loans. This is so that banks are enthusiastic about extending credit.
As a result, the trend of property credit has started to rise. Due to these policies, the middle and upper class people have now started to buy apartments and houses.
Based on data on the basic lending rate of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) as of February 2021, the corporate credit interest rate for Bank Mandiri, BRI , BNI, and BTN are 8 percent.
Private banks such as BCA set their corporate lending rates at eight percent, Bank Permata at 9.5 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia at 9.5 percent and Bank CIMB Niaga at 9.25 percent.
BPD such as BPD DKI 9.75 percent, BPD West Java and Banten 7.16 percent, BPD Central Java 8.82 percent, BPD East Java 5.9 percent, BPD North Sumatra 9.03 percent and BPD Papua 10.3 percent .