ndonesia’s largest private lender BCA recorded a 17.1 percent year-on-year (yoy) increase in loan disbursement to Rp 835.7 trillion in the first quarter of this year, which compares with Rp 713.8 trillion (US$43.9 billion) in the same period last year.
Net profits at the bank and its subsidiaries also rose by 11.7 percent yoy to Rp 12.9 trillion in the first three months of this year. BCA kept its nonperforming loan (NPL) ratio well within safe limits at 1.9 percent, which is unchanged from the previous quarter.
According to the firm, the surge in credit growth is noteworthy as lending growth typically tends to be lower or even negative in the first quarter of the year.
“Our loan disbursement grew by 3.1 percent quarter-on-quarter [qoq]. Meanwhile, if we look at historical data, our credit growth in the first quarter is usually negative, except during commodity booms. I think this is something [significant]; it means there is a demand for credit,” BCA CEO Jahja Setiaatmadja said at a press briefing on Monday.
Loans for corporates saw the highest growth rate at 22.1 percent yoy to Rp 389.2 trillion so far this year, as of March. This is followed by consumer credit, which includes auto loans, personal loans and mortgages, as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) loans, which recorded annual increases of 14.9 percent and 13.5 percent, respectively.
“We observed optimism in consumer spending, especially during the Ramadan and Idul Fitri period this year, which positively impacted BCA’s loan disbursement in the last quarter. We are optimistic that our performance can be maintained until the end of this year, along with the positive prospects of the country’s economy,” Jahja explained.
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Meanwhile, BCA’s third-party funds also increased by 7.9 percent yoy to Rp 1.12 quadrillion in the first quarter of this year.
