Maybank Indonesia's Net Profit In The First Half Of 2021 Drops 37 Percent

President Commissioner of Maybank Indonesia Datuk Abdul Farid Alias/ Antara

JAKARTA - PT Bank Maybank Indonesia Tbk earned a net profit of Rp510 billion in the first semester of 2021, down 37 percent compared to the same period the previous year of Rp810 billion.

President Director of Maybank Indonesia, Taswin Zakaria, said the decline in profit was due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic since the first quarter of 2020.

"The current pandemic condition is quite alarming, where government data shows that there has been an increase in positive cases of COVID-19 at the end of the second quarter of 2021. This has had an impact on a number of community and business activities, including the financial sector," said Taswin in a statement in Jakarta, reported by Antara, Sunday, August 1.

However, he assessed that the policy of the Implementation of Restrictions on Community Activities (PPKM) and the acceleration of the vaccination program by the government, could foster market confidence regarding the gradual economic recovery.

The Company will also remain disciplined in managing the bank's business growth and always implement conservative risk management in the midst of today's challenging conditions.

"We will continue to innovate in providing various relevant financial products and solutions for customers in the midst of a pandemic in line with the Bank's mission, Humanising Financial Services. With strong capital and adequate liquidity, we are ready to welcome growth opportunities, along with economic recovery," Taswin said.

President Commissioner of Maybank Indonesia Datuk Abdul Farid Alias said his party saw the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic still continuing. However, he remains optimistic that the current challenging and uncertain conditions can be overcome in time.

"We believe that by applying prudential principles related to asset and liquidity management, supported by strong risk management, banks can overcome today's challenges. We believe in the prospects for economic growth in Indonesia and are always active in providing better banking services to customers," said Abdul.Net Interest Income (NII) or Net Interest Income fell 12.1 percent to Rp3.5 trillion in line with the decline in lending and loan yields. This is in line with the decline in Bank Indonesia's benchmark interest rate and the impact of the ongoing credit restructuring process for customers affected by the pandemic.

Net Interest Margin (NIM) fell 54 basis points to 4.47 percent in June 2021, compared to 5.01 percent in the same period last year. However, NIM increased by 12 basis points compared to the first quarter of 2021 which was recorded at 4.35 percent, supported by improving interest costs.

The company's fee-based income decreased 19.6 percent to Rp952 billion in the first half of 2021, due to a decrease in fee income from global market transactions, but fees related to bancassurance grew 79 percent to Rp106 billion. On a quarterly basis, fee income grew 10 percent to Rp498 billion in the second quarter of 2021 from Rp453 billion in the first quarter of 2021.

The decline in loan interest income and service income due to the ongoing pandemic can be offset by various bank efforts, including reducing provision fees, credit costs, and overhead costs.

In recent years, the bank has proactively taken conservative steps to reserve provisions for its portfolio across all business segments, especially in the midst of challenging conditions. The move contributed to a decrease in bank provision costs by 21.6 percent to Rp763 billion from Rp1.01 trillion.

In addition, the bank continues to monitor and assist customers who are facing challenges. The Bank also maintains a risk posture at an adequate level to maintain the quality of its assets, so that the bank can record an improved NPL ratio or NPL (consolidated) which improved to 4.4 percent (gross) in June 2021 compared to 5 percent (gross) in the same period last year. then.

The Bank managed to control overhead costs, which fell 6.1 percent to Rp2.9 trillion, supported by ongoing efforts to manage costs across the organization, including the implementation of work from home during the pandemic.

In line with current market conditions, where the banking industry is facing a slowdown in credit growth, Maybank Indonesia's total credit also fell 14.6 percent to Rp98.8 trillion amid the Bank's efforts to mitigate credit risk during the pandemic.

Community Financial Services (CFS) loans fell 17.5 percent due to a 22.3 percent drop in Non-Retail CFS loans and a 12 percent drop in CFS-Retail loans. Global Banking Credit (GB) also fell 8.2 percent.

However, the distribution of Home Ownership Loans (KPR) still grew positively by 1.2 percent in the first half of 2021 to Rp. 14.4 trillion from Rp. 14.2 trillion in the same period last year. On a quarterly basis, mortgages grew 2.5 percent from Rp. 14.1 trillion in the first quarter of 2021.

Total customer deposits increased 1.6 percent to Rp107.4 trillion in the first half of 2021. The Bank implemented various strategies to maintain strong liquidity and an efficient funding base by increasing low-cost funds and reducing high-cost funds.

This strategy contributed to an increase in low-cost funds or CASA, which grew 6.4 percent to Rp45.1 trillion. The CASA ratio also rose to 41.9 percent in June 2021 compared to 40 percent in June 2020.