Legitimate! BI Maintain Reference Interest Rate Of 3.50 Percent

Bank Indonesia (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Bank Indonesia (BI) has decided to maintain the BI 7-Day Reverse Repo Rate (BI7DRR) at 3.50 percent. Apart from that, the monetary authorities also did not change the deposit facility interest rate, which was 2.75 percent, and the lending facility rate at 4.25 percent.

This policy does not change BI's last decision on February 18, which set the benchmark interest rate at the level of 3.50 percent.

BI Governor Perry Warjiyo said this step was based on the consideration of maintaining the stability of the rupiah exchange rate from increasing uncertainty in global financial markets. In addition, the monetary authority also views the inflation forecast to remain low.

"Bank Indonesia will further optimize accommodative macroprudential policies, accelerate money market deepening, support international policies, and digitize the payment system," he said in an online press conference, Thursday, March 18.

Perry added that his party also took policy steps as a follow-up to the synergy of the Financial System Stability Committee (KSSK) policy in an integrated policy package to increase business financing.

"We also encourage transparency of the banking base lending rate (SBDK) in more detail and coordinate with the government and related authorities to support the acceleration of monetary policy transmission and increase credit and financing to the business world," he explained.

Furthermore, the BI boss said that the global economy has the potential to grow higher than previously estimated, even though it has not been balanced from one country to another.

Meanwhile, domestically, the improvement in the domestic economy is predicted to continue, supported by the global economic recovery, the implementation of vaccinations and national policy synergies.

"The development of a number of indicators in February 2021 indicates an ongoing improvement, amidst limited increased mobility in line with the imposition of restrictions in a number of areas," he said.

On this occasion, Perry also said that the central bank had purchased Government Securities (SBN) amounting to IDR65.03 trillion until March 16, 2021.

Of this amount, Rp. 22.9 trillion was reached through the main auction mechanism, and Rp. 42.13 trillion through the Greenshoe Option (GSO) method.

The purchase of SBN has increased when compared to the data released per February 16, 2021, amounting to Rp40.77 trillion. This value consists of a main auction of IDR 18.16 trillion and a Greenshoe Option (GSO) mechanism of IDR 22.61.