Permata's profits increase 15 percent

JAKARTA: First-half net profits of publicly listed Bank Permata grew 17 percent from a year earlier, thanks in part to an 18 percent rise in lending.

Net profits as of June reached Rp 326 billion (US$32.7 million).

Lending as of June stood at Rp 36.7 trillion, compared to Rp 31.2 trillion a year earlier, the bank said in a statement, bringing its loan-to-deposit ratio to a healthy 85 percent.

Sound growth in the loan book was balanced by a prudent 2.5 percent non-performing loan (NPL) ratio, well below Bank Indonesia's maximum limit of 5 percent.

"We not only posted a sound improvement in our profitability, but also optimized our intermediary function in supporting the economy, while still offering a wide range of innovative banking solutions in conventional and sharia banking," president director Steward D. Hall said in the statement. - JP