Number Of Failed To Pay MSMEs Swelling, BRI Prepares Strategy

Illustration (Photo: Special Doc)

JAKARTA - PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk (BBRI) emphasized that it is still able to maintain asset quality amid swelling in the number of defaults in MSMEs. Evidently, BRI was able to maintain NPL quality at the level of 3.05 percent in the second quarter of 2024.

BRI President Director Sunarso said, referring to Bank Indonesia data, the increase in NPL figures did not only occur in the micro segment but also in MSMEs.

"To my knowledge, NPL MSMEs are banking, meaning that the private sector and BUMN are indeed combined, maybe at the level of 4 percent. But actually the NPL MSME BRI is below that/\.3.05. So actually the NPL MSME BRI is still better or under NPL, the average industry in MSMEs," Sunarso said in an online press conference, Thursday, July 25.

Sunarso added that BRI has prepared a number of strategies to prevent the increase in the number of NPLs. According to him, if there is a deterioration in the MSME segment, banks do not need to impose growth on this segment.

"I think if it's like this, the strategy is not to force yourself to grow there. Because once we give credit for 3 months of traffic jams, give credit for 6 months. That should not happen. So we must continue to grow in MSMEs, but be very selective," he explained.

The first strategy established by BRI is to tighten the risk acceptance and portfolio guideline criteria. The next strategy is to re-select the portfolio that has become a bank asset

"The second is to restructure. Is restructuring necessary for leeway? Yes, it was said earlier, if there will be leniency, we will follow it. But if there is no leniency, we will restructure it in accordance with the principles of restructuring following the general provisions that apply," he said.

If restructuring cannot be carried out, he said, the next option is to delete the book or write off.

The last strategy, Sunarso said BRI would continue to collect the deleted credit.

This is done to increase and focus on recovering from book-deleted credits.

Just so you know, until the end of the second quarter of 2024, BRI was recorded to have succeeded in disbursing loans amounting to Rp1,336.78 trillion or grew by 11.20 percent year on year (yoy).

From the credit distribution, the MSME segment still dominates BRI's lending, with a portion reaching 81.96 percent of BRI's total credit disbursement, or around Rp1,095.64 trillion.

The Loan at Risk (LAR) ratio recorded an improvement or decrease, from 14.94 percent at the end of the second quarter of 2023 to 12.00 percent at the end of the second quarter of 2024.

Meanwhile, the ratio of non-performing loans (NPL) is maintained at around 3.05 percent with an NPL coverage ratio at an adequate level of 211.60 percent.