Indonesia reports bank loans surge

Bankers attribute increase to country's increasing business investment and infrastructure development.

Bank loans for the first quarter of the year have increased on average.

PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk has channeled loans of up to Rp208.96 trillion ($23.15 billion).

This is an increase of 26.5 percent compared to the same period last year of Rp165.23 trillion ($18.31 billion).

This consumer credit, according to BRI's operational director Sarwono Sudarto, is predicted to grow even higher because of the plan to increase civil servant's salaries.

Increased salaries will push people to fix up houses, buy motorbikes and also other goods.

They will borrow bank loans, he said last weekend.

The loan increase will also help in pushing company's profit.

View the full story in Tempo Interactive.