BSI Welcomes The Presence Of The Jumbo Sharia Bank As A Result Of Mergers

JAKARTA - Deputy President Director of PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk (BSI) Bob T. Ananta said that the company positions the presence of a jumbo sharia bank as a result of a merger planned by the government as a partner or partner for BSI in the national sharia banking industry ecosystem.

"In fact, BSI feels it has a'sparring partner' if there is another sharia bank that is also sizeable," said Bob in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Tuesday, April 2.

It is known that BTN Syariah and Bank Muamalat are planned to synergize through a merger or merger. The government hopes that the merged company can become a large Islamic bank in Indonesia, even expected to enter the top 16 Islamic banks in the world.

Bob said BSI welcomed the plan to merge Islamic banks so that fellow Islamic banks could contribute to serving, building and developing Islamic finance in Indonesia.

"We responded to it to become a'sparring partner', we felt positive," he said.

Bob noted that the majority of Islamic banks currently fall into the category of Bank Groups based on Core Capital (KBMI) 2 and 1.

Meanwhile, BSI is included in the KBMI 3 category, namely with a core capital of more than Rp. 14 trillion. Thus, the presence of other jumbo Islamic banks can be a partner for BSI in the market niche.

In February, BTN President Director Nixon LP Napitupulu revealed that the company was focusing on the due diligence process with one of the Islamic banks in Indonesia ahead of the separation or spin off of its sharia business unit (UUS).

In accordance with the Financial Services Authority Regulation (POJK) Number 12 of 2023 concerning Sharia Business Units, BTN will separate UUS considering that the number of assets owned by BTN Syariah currently has reached more than IDR 50 trillion.

The merger company must be established by October 2025 at the latest, as stipulated by the OJK. Given that the preparation of a new company takes a short time, BTN also chooses the acquisition path.