Two State-Owned Banks Report Double-Digit Profit Growth

Amidst the challenges of global uncertainty and the weakening Indonesian Rupiah, two state-owned banks (SOEs) managed to record double-digit profit growth. Bank Mandiri, in the first half of 2018, booked a profit of Rp 12.18 trillion, a 28.69% increase compared to the same period in 2017. Similarly, Bank BNI achieved a profit of Rp 7.44 trillion, up 15.95% from the previous period.

The increase in Bank Mandiri's (BMRI) profit in the first half was driven, in part, by an 18.1% growth in fee-based income to Rp 12.86 trillion from Rp 10.89 trillion in the first half of the previous year. In addition, a decrease in loan loss provisions also contributed to the increased profit of the bank, which has assets of Rp 1,155.55 trillion.

Meanwhile, Bank BNI's profit growth was supported by a 13.3% increase in net interest income (NII) to Rp 17.45 trillion. This growth significantly outpaced the national banking average of around 3.4% up to April 2018.