Erick Thohir: Indonesia Will Have A World Class Islamic Bank

Minister of BUMN, Erick Thohir. (Photo: Setkab)

JAKARTA - State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Minister Erick Thohir said Indonesia would have a solid and global caliber national Islamic bank through the historic process of merging three state-owned Islamic banks, namely PT Bank BRIsyariah Tbk, PT Bank BNI Syariah and PT Bank Syariah. Independent.

"The signing of the Conditional Merger Agreement (CMA) is the beginning of a historic process for the birth of a global-caliber national Islamic commercial bank. I am optimistic that the merged Islamic bank will become new energy for the Indonesian economy. Before the pandemic, the performance of Islamic banks in the second quarter was very high. This merger will make the position of the national Islamic bank bigger and more solid so that more Indonesians can benefit from the presence of this national Islamic bank, "said Erick Thohir as quoted by Antara , Wednesday, October 14.

The signing of the CMA for Integration and Value Improvement of BUMN Sharia Banks involves PT Bank BRIsyariah Tbk, PT Bank BNI Syariah, and PT Bank Syariah Mandiri. The signing of the CMA took place in Jakarta, Monday, October 12, 2020 night by the President Director of Bank BRIsyariah Ngatari, President Director of Bank BNI Syariah Abdullah Firman Wibowo, and President Director of Bank Syariah Mandiri Toni EB Subari.

Also signing the agreement, President Director of Bank BRI Sunarso, Director of Bank BNI Institutional Relations Sis Apik Wijayanto, and Acting President Director of Bank Mandiri Hery Gunardi. After that, the merger process was continued with information disclosure to the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and the Financial Services Authority (OJK) on Tuesday, October 13, 2020.

Erick added that the government has carefully planned the establishment of the first largest Islamic commercial bank in Indonesia. With a Muslim majority population, Erick assessed that the potential of Islamic banking is still very large while providing options for the public or business world that are more comfortable using the Islamic banking system.

"Indonesia's desire to have the largest national Islamic commercial bank in 2021 is part of the government's efforts and commitment to develop and make the Islamic financial economy a new pillar of national economic strength," said Erick.

According to him, this strategy in the long term will also encourage Indonesia to become one of the world's Islamic financial centers.

According to calculations from the OJK, the merger of the three Islamic banks will result in a new Islamic bank entity with total assets of IDR 207 trillion.

"Because the situation and the purpose of this merger are good, we expect the support of all employees of the three banks, customers, and all Indonesian people for the process of the birth of an Indonesian-owned Islamic bank which will become the largest Islamic bank in the country, ready to compete with conventional banks, and enter the TOP. 10 Islamic banks in the world. God willing, this will be the pride of all of us, "said Erick.

After the signing of the CMA, there are still a series of processes and stages before the merger becomes effective, including obtaining approval from regulators.

Therefore, during the process, the three Islamic banks will continue to run their normal operations and services optimally, including customer funds that will be well maintained and guaranteed according to regulations.

It was noted that several important points had been agreed upon by the three Himbara banks regarding the merger. First, the shareholders' agreement, namely PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk, PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BRI), and PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BNI). to combine Bank Syariah Mandiri, BRIsyariah, and BNI Syariah.

Second, all parties will prepare everything related to the preparation for the merger or merger to obtain an effective statement letter from the OJK by 2021.

Third, other matters related to the provisions regarding the merged bank will be stated in the Merger Plan clause. Fourth, the joint commitment of all banks that there will be no Termination of Employment (PHK) in the merger.

"This is a commitment for all of us, the three Islamic banks, their shareholders, and the Ministry of BUMN that there will be no layoffs in this process. We will become one big family. The big family of the largest Islamic bank in Indonesia with global caliber," said Erick.