The Number of Public Banks Decreased by 1,020 Until July 2021

Indonesia's banking sector is increasingly promoting online or digital services. Furthermore, some banks are reviewing plans to add branches and human resources (HR) as a form of efficiency. Based on data from the Indonesian Banking Statistics of the Financial Services Authority (OJK), the number of general bank branches has decreased by 1,020 units between January and July 2021.

The number of general bank branches in December 2020 was 30,733 units throughout Indonesia, but this number had decreased to 29,713 units by the end of July 2021.

State-owned banks (Bank Persero) experienced the largest reduction in branch numbers, with a decrease of 687 units by the end of July 2021. Similarly, private banks also closed many branches, totaling 286 units. This decrease in the number of private bank branches is also due to the merger of three sharia banks, subsidiaries of state-owned banks, which formed a new entity last February.

The number of Regional Development Banks (BPD) branches also decreased by 40 units by the end of 2021. Similarly, the number of foreign/joint venture bank branches decreased by 2 units.

For information, the number of general banks was only 107 by the end of July 2021. This comprises 4 state-owned banks, 68 national private banks, 27 BPD banks, and 8 foreign/joint venture banks.