JAKARTA – After scoring slight increase in credit in 2023, PT Bank Permata Tbk (BNLI) sets up a moderate target for its credit growth in 2024 of 7% to 9%.

According to Public Expose of PermataBank today (7/3), BNLI reported credit growth of 4.3% year-on-year (yoy), scoring IDR 142.2 trillion at the end of December 2023. With this target, PermataBank projects credit distribution of a maximum IDR 155 trillion at the end of this year.

Corporate and commercial credits dominated loans, growing 6.1% yoy to IDR 92.7 trillion, followed by consumption and SME credits, which also climbed 4.8% yoy higher to IDR 48.6 trillion.

According to Rudy Basyir Ahmad, Director of Finance of BNLI, in 2024, PermataBank will focus on enhancing credits in commercial and SME segments. “Both segments will become the growth engine for our credit growth in the future,” he added.

In the midst of high interest reference rate set by the Fed, which remains stable at above 5%, and Bank Indonesia at 6%, PermataBank seems quite optimistic that the domestic interest rate and economic condition will improve in the second half of 2024.

“The interest rate competition is indeed one of biggest challenges for the bank,” added Ahmad. According to Josua Parded, Chief Economist of PermataBank, as well as Permata Institute of Economic Research (PIER), Bank Indonesia is estimated to lower BI rate to 5.50% at the second half of 2024.

“With the projection of interest rate going down in the second half of 2024, we try to increase our fee-based income [portion in our revenue],” added Meliza M. Rusli, President Director of PermataBank. (ZH)