Banking Practitioners: Our Struggle Is Nothing Compared To The Heroes' Efforts To Seize Independence

Illustration. (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Banking practitioner Abiwodo reminded Indonesia not to be negligent and to remain vigilant even though financial stability and domestic banking resilience are still maintained and are able to respond to shocks that arise, because global economic uncertainty is still in sight.

"It is true, our struggle is nothing compared to the heroes who won independence. But we must adapt our spirit when facing the threat of this global crisis," Abidowo said in an official statement in Jakarta, Friday.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian war were major factors causing the economic recession to spikes in food and energy prices that triggered inflation, thereby successfully destabilizing banking resilience in several countries. Bond credit rating company, Moody's Investor Service also reported that the world banking sector is being hit.

He explained that banking institutions are the main contributors in maintaining conducive economic conditions. Banking plays a role in the world

development and trade related to the provision of business capital, including the fulfillment of community needs.

Despite assessing that global banking is being hit, Moody's Investor Service said that Indonesia is still considered to have resilience or resilience in the midst of this economic turmoil.

"From the valuable lessons of the 1997 monetary crisis, when the crisis alarm sounded, the government, Bank Indonesia, and related authorities were always proactive in preventing and issuing appropriate policies to maintain banking resilience," he said.

He gave an example when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in early 2020, Financial Services Authority Regulation (POJK) Number 11/POJK.03/2020 concerning National Economic Stimulus as a Countercyclical Policy for the Impact of the Spread of COVID-19 or known as the relaxation policy was issued to maintain banking resilience.

Later on September 2, 2021, the OJK Board of Commissioners Meeting decided to extend the relaxation period for bank credit restructuring to March 31, 2023.

This relaxation of credit restructuring is expected to provide certainty for banks and business actors in preparing their business plans, particularly regarding the restructuring debtor handling scheme and the reserve scheme.

Therefore Abidowo hopes that Indonesia can recover faster and rise stronger, in accordance with the tagline of the 77th Anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia. This sentence is considered as a spirit-burning mantra in an effort to recover the economy in the midst of global uncertainty.

"For us bankers, this is a kind of call from Mother Earth to continue to oversee the resilience of our banking system," he said.