JAKARTA, Aug 3 - Bank Indonesia (BI) is seeking to draw excess liquidity out of its own securities and into bank lending, the central bank's acting governor said on Monday.
Destry Damayanti made the remarks at a press briefing convened by Indonesia's Financial System Stability Board - a body composed of senior officials from the finance ministry, the central bank, the Financial Services Authority and the deposit insurer. The board met on Friday for its first regular quarterly session since the surprise exit of Perry Warjiyo from the post of BI governor.
Warjiyo's resignation, which was announced on July 27, has coincided with increased investor unease in the country, and concerns have been raised about fiscal discipline and the central bank's independence. Markets are awaiting a nomination from President Prabowo Subianto to fill the vacant governor role. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa told reporters after the conference that he would not seek the nomination.
At its July policy review - a meeting chaired by Warjiyo - BI introduced a change to required reserve rules. The central bank said it would reduce required reserve levels by 200 basis points for banks that keep less than 19% of their funds in government bonds and BI's rupiah-denominated securities, known as SRBI, with the change taking effect on September 1.
"We want SRBI to be a liquidity management tool, not an investment instrument (for banks)," Destry said at the press briefing, adding that BI also wants SRBI to help attract foreign capital inflows. "We want banks to play a more active role as intermediary institutions for lending," she said.
Destry noted that BI has reduced the stock of outstanding SRBI in the market to about 1,050 trillion rupiah as of Friday, down from 1,097 trillion rupiah on July 16. The central bank has trimmed that stock as part of its effort to alter how banks allocate their funds.
Before his resignation, Warjiyo had disagreed with Purbaya over liquidity policies, including the high interest rates BI was offering on SRBI, which pushed up government borrowing costs, as well as the government's placement of funds in state banks.
Speaking alongside Destry at the conference, Finance Minister Purbaya said liquidity matters had been discussed at the board meeting and that there would be no further debate on the issue. Friderica Widyasari Dewi, chief of the Financial Services Authority, said the banking sector currently has adequate liquidity. She added that regulators on the board agreed to coordinate the timing of any withdrawal of government funds from commercial banks to avoid disruption.
Destry closed by reiterating that BI remains committed to a policy mix focused on stabilizing the rupiah exchange rate, keeping inflation within the bank's target range and supporting economic growth.
($1 = 17,980 rupiah)