Total Financial Services Industry Assets Reach IDR 34 Thousand Trillion, OJK: Still Lower Than The ASEAN State GDP Ratio

Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) Mahendra Siregar. (Aris Nurjani / VOI)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Board of Commissioners (DK) of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) Mahendra Siregar said that until now the total assets of the financial services industry have reached IDR 34 thousand trillion.

"Currently, the total assets plus capitalization of the total financial services industry have reached Rp. 34 thousand trillion," he said at the launch of the National Financial Smart Movement (GENCARKAN), Thursday, August 22.

According to Mahendra, the achievement of the financial services industry has made a significant contribution to national economic growth.

However, Mahendra assessed that when compared to other ASEAN countries, the financial services industry's contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) was still small.

"Even though it looks very large in nominal terms, if the ratio to GDP compared to other ASEAN countries, it still looks small. This means that the space for increasing added value and the contribution of the financial services sector to the national economy is still very large," he said.

According to Mahendra, strengthening and development can increase the efficiency of the financial services sector, which in turn will reduce the interest rate or cost of funds lent to the public.

Therefore, Mahendra conveyed that strengthening and developing the financial services industry is an urgent priority.

"Untuk itu, tidak bisa tidak tidak penguatan dan pengembangan industri jasa keuangan menjadi prioritas mendesak," ucapnya.

Meanwhile, Mahendra said that currently, the space for the development of the financial services sector is still very wide, especially at the level of financial inclusivity which is recorded at 75 percent and the financial literacy index at 65.43 percent.

"We believe that strong financial literacy and inclusion is the key to increasing market deepening liquidity and disbursement of financing to provide leverage for national economic growth," he explained.