Momentum Of Islamic Economic Awakening: Asa Agung On The Sharia Bank Of Indonesia

President Director of Bank Syariah Indonesia Hery Gunardi (center) accompanied by Deputy Director I Ngatari (right) and Deputy Director II Abdullah Firman Wibowo. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - By saying Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, I declare Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk launched.

That was the prayer that came out of the mouth of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) when inaugurating the largest Islamic bank in Indonesia on Monday, February 1 at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta.

Simple sentences but full of meaning and full of hope. This is because the ceremony is also a momentum for the merger of three state-owned banks, namely PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Syariah Tbk. (BRIS), PT Bank Syariah Mandiri (BSM), and PT Bank Negara Indonesia Syariah (BNI Syariah).

Under the banner of Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI), this country hangs a lot of hope. In excerpts of the president's speech, the head of state even mentioned the economic potential of the national sharia as a sleeping giant. The strategic policy of the merger of the three state-owned banks is a real effort to inspire the economic giant to contribute more to the economy.

The narrative developed by President Jokowi is no joke. Citing the 2019-2024 Sharia Economics Master Plan released by the government, the consumption of the halal industry in Indonesia in 2017 reached more than 200 billion US dollars, more than 36 percent of total household consumption. This figure is also equivalent to 20 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) formed during that period.

Then, it was also stated that global Islamic banking assets in 2021 are projected at US $ 3.5 billion. This is a very large number considering the increase of up to 57 percent for the food and lifestyle sector and 75 percent for Islamic finance if calculated since 2015.

The State of the Global Islamic Economy in 2018 stated that Malaysia was ranked first in the list of the largest halal financial management in the world. Meanwhile Indonesia occupies the 10th position in the same category.

So, it is only natural for President Jokowi to have high hopes for Indonesian Syariah Bank to become an important player in the world halal industry and become the 'center of gravity' of the global halal ecosystem.

The Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir also conveyed the same desire. As the big boss of a state company, he described BSI as a form of national sharia economic legitimacy.

"As a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia deserves to have a large and strong Islamic bank that will make Indonesia one of the world's Islamic economic and financial centers," he said.

Erick's high target is not easy but also not impossible. Referring to the Financial Services Authority (OJK) report, it is stated that the performance of Islamic banking financing will grow by 9.5 percent in 2020.

Even though the current expansion space is so limited due to the impact of the pandemic. This condition is in contrast when compared to conventional banking which recorded credit growth of minus 2.41 percent for the same period.

In carrying out the mandate as well as the government's commercial target, Bank Syariah Indonesia President Director Hery Gunardi has prepared a strategy. He revealed that the company will focus on working on the micro, small and medium enterprises (UMKM) sector as the backbone of the company's business activities.

"We are committed to serving all levels of society while upholding the sharia system," he said.

Great Asset

To make this happen, Minister Erick then 'equipped' Hery with trillions of rupiah in assets. For information, until December 2020 BSI has total assets of around Rp. 240 trillion, core capital of more than Rp. 22.60 trillion, and total third party funds (DPK) of Rp. 210 trillion. Then, it was also known that the company's financing had reached IDR 157 trillion.

Meanwhile, BSI's consolidated profit collection is claimed to reach Rp2.19 trillion as of December 2020. Then for the network side, BSI is supported by more than 1,241 branch offices, around 2,447 ATM networks, and members of more than 20,000 employees spread across the archipelago.

With this financial performance, Bank Syariah Indonesia was included in the list of the top 10 largest banks in Indonesia in terms of assets, or to be precise, ranked seventh.

In closing, President Jokowi's direction in the BSI inauguration speech could be a cool message to the Indonesian people regarding the presence of this new financial institution.

"Bank Syariah Indonesia must be able to reach all people and not only for Muslims."

Happy Working PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk!