CIMB Niaga boss sees bankers profiting in Indonesia's golden years

CIMB Niaga's president director Arwin Rasyid says Indonesia is in its “golden years” and lenders will benefit.

According to Rasyid, income per capita in Indonesia keeps rising, the economy keeps growing and that banking sector penetration in the population remains low.

Bankers will also make more money thanks to the new land law passed last year and the recent credit rating upgrade the country received from two international ratings agencies, Moody’s and Fitch.

“Infrastructure loans could grow faster, especially for toll roads,” Arwin said. “We must take advantage. We are at the right place and the right time. Indonesia is in its golden years this year to 10 years onwards.”

The country’s commercial banks reported large increases in net income last year from a year earlier as demand for loans by consumers and corporations grew. The total combined net income of the country’s 120 commercial banks increased 31 percent to Rp 75.1 trillion or $8.3 billion last year, according to data from Bank Indonesia.

Total outstanding loans grew 24.6 percent to Rp 2,200 trillion last year. The central bank forecast banks’ loan growth would accelerate 27 percent this year.

Despite his rosy outlook, Arwin said he realized the competition was fierce in the banking sector, with 63 percent of the market controlled by 10 lenders.

CIMB Niaga, with Rp 164.2 trillion in assets as of the end of 2011, a network of 901 offices and 13,600 employees, was fifth on that list with 4.5 percent of the banking sector’s total assets.

Asked about the possibility of CIMB Niaga moving up the list of the country’s biggest banks, he said, “That could happen through mergers. I am not closed to the possibility of a merger in the next two to three years.

“Just look at what happens in Europe and the United State. Mergers are common.”

CIMB Niaga, which is 97.94 percent owned by Malaysia’s CIMB Group, is itself the product of a merger. It was formed when Bank Niaga and Lippo Bank came together on Nov. 1, 2008.

That was the same month and year that Arwin rose to his current position, as the head of the Malaysian conglomerate’s Indonesian subsidiary.

His previous roles included president director of Telekomunikasi Indonesia, the biggest telecommunications company in the country; vice president director of Bank Negara Indonesia; president director of Bank Danamon; and vice chairman of the Indonesian Banking Restructuring Agency.

He was also vice president director of Bank Niaga from 1998 to 1999.