Erick Thohir Says BSI Spin Off Is Still Being Studied, Will Danantara Manage?

JAKARTA - Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir revealed that the spin off plan of PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk or BSI from PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk had not been carried out. He said the plan was still in the study stage.

Regarding BSI's position, Erick said the sharia bank would later be under the management of the Anagata Nusantara Power Investment Management Agency (BPI Danantara).

"Not yet, it's still a process. Later from Danantara we will submit it to us, then we will see what the prospects will be in the future," Erick told reporters at the Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, Monday, June 2.

Erick emphasized that the current position of the Ministry of SOEs is as a regulator. Therefore, he said his party would only follow up after receiving an official proposal from Danantara.

"Yes, later there will be a study from them. Right now my position is as a regulator," he said.

For your information, PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk or known as BSI is the result of a merger of three Islamic banks belonging to the Association of State-Owned Banks (Himbara), namely Bank Mandiri Syariah, BNI Syariah and BRI Syariah.

Quoting the official website of PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk or BSI, the majority shareholder of BSI is PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk with a percentage of 51.47 percent.

Then, followed by PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk or BNI with 23.24 percent and PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk or BRI with 15.38 percent. The rest is public ownership of 9.91 percent.

Previously, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) encouraged banks with sharia business units (UUS) to spin off from the parent bank.

Chief Executive of Banking Supervision of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) Dian Ediana Rae said that actually spin off and merger should be done. He considered that it would not be good if Islamic banks such as Bank Syariah Indonesia were the only Islamic banks in Indonesia.

"It's not good if big banks like BSI are without competitors. Because the competition policy is not good and we need to improve the market structure so that we have a bank that is getting bigger day by day because for banks it's a size do matter," said Dian in an online press conference, Monday, August 5, 2024.

Dian said, this has been proven by the presence of other large banks so that banks are not only profit-oriented, but also in strengthening the financial structure in Indonesia.