Bank Negara Indonesia's net soars by 123%

Surge in profit was due to 15 percent growth in loans and 24 percent surge in fee-based income.

BNI posted Rp 1.85 trillion ($196.1 million) in net profits in the first nine months of this year, rising 123 percent from Rp 832 billion ($88.27 million) in the same period last year, as stated in the Jakarta Post.

During the period, lending grew by 15 percent from the same period last year to reach Rp 122.1 trillion ($12.95 billion) in outstanding loans, boosting net interest income by 15 percent.

Industry-wide, lending growth only averaged between 5 and 7 percent, according to the central bank, far slower than around 30 percent average growth booked last year.

BNI also enjoyed a 24 percent rise in fee-based income as of the third quarter of the year, from Rp 2.5 trillion ($265.25 million) to Rp 3.1 trillion ($328.56 million).

As of 30 September 2009, the bank's capital adequacy ratio (CAR) — a key measure to gauge financial health, rose to 14.6 percent from 13.9 percent a year earlier, well above the central bank’s minimum level of 8 percent.