The Merger Of Three State-Owned Sharia Banks Under Erick Thohir's Direction Officially Begins, Here's The Process

Illustration. (Photo: Bank Syariah Mandiri)

JAKARTA - The signing of the Conditional Merger Agreement (CMA) is the first step in the merger of three state-owned subsidiary sharia banks, namely PT Bank BRIsyariah Tbk, PT Bank Syariah Mandiri, and PT Bank BNI Syariah. However, this process is only the initial stage of merging one of the largest National Sharia Banks in Indonesia and there are still many processes to go through.

Head of the Project Management Office Team and Deputy President Director of PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk, Hery Gunardi said the signing of the CMA was held on Monday, October 12 evening, followed by the delivery of information disclosure to the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and the Financial Services Authority (OJK). ) today.

"Alhamdulillah, we inform you that last night the CMA agreement to create the largest Himbara Islamic bank owned by Indonesia was signed by the parties. Thus this is the first step and a sign that preparations for the merger process of three state-owned Islamic commercial banks have officially begun," he said, press conference virtually, Tuesday, October 13th.

Then in the third week of October 2020, there will be a more complete explanation regarding the merger plan. While processing, the bank's operations will run as usual. After obtaining approval from regulators regarding the merger plan, the banks will hold an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders (EGMS).

If it goes well, the legal merger will take place in February 2021. Hery said, the preparations for these processes will be very much. Including product mapping , discussions related to branches, to unification of technology systems.

"We will choose and defend the better," said Hery.

The merger of the three sharia banks, which are BUMN subsidiaries, is in accordance with the direction of BUMN Minister Erick Thohir . This merger is intended so that Indonesia, as a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, can have a large Islamic bank and be able to help optimize the economic potential and national Islamic finance, as well as strengthen the halal industry ecosystem.

"The results of the merger of these banks have the potential to become the top 10 Islamic banks globally based on market capitalization. This is also part of the government's efforts and commitment to make the Islamic economy a new pillar of national economic strength," he said.

Furthermore, Hery said, this step was at the same time a long-term strategy to encourage Indonesia to become one of the centers of Islamic economics and finance in the world. He said this step was a monumental step for the three Himbara Banks and three Islamic banks owned by Himbara to advance Indonesia's economy and finance.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, Catur Budi Harto, said that the merged syariah bank is expected to have a greater engine, economies of scale and market reach to optimize the economic and financial potential of sharia in Indonesia.

The combined strength of the three Islamic banks, said Catur, will be able to have a more complete spectrum of sharia services under one roof. Through this integration, Himbara Islamic bank will later have a bigger engine , economic scale , and market reach .

"Of course, with stronger and bigger engines and muscles, we can optimize the economic and financial potential of sharia in a sustainable manner. For customers, later they will be able to enjoy a kind of one-roof sharia financial service solution for various needs and customer segments, starting from MSMEs, retail. and commercial, wholesale sharia, to corporate and investment , "said Catur.

In line with Catur, the Director of Institutional Relations of PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk, Sis Apik Wijayanto said, national Islamic banks still have a very large room to develop because the market share is still relatively small.

"Even though Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population, the market share of Islamic finance in Indonesia is currently relatively small, namely 9.68 percent as of July 2020. If viewed from market penetration, national Islamic banks have room for growth which is still unusually large. the formation of a solid, strong, and large Islamic bank will become the largest Islamic bank in Indonesia and the Top 10 Islamic banks globally, "he said.