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ank Permata (BNLI), a subsidiary of conglomerate PT Astra International (ASII), reported on Wednesday that it had booked an 18 percent increase in its net profits after taxes to Rp 1.37 trillion (US$141.47 million) in 2012 on the back of strong lending growth.

Bank Permata president director David Fletcher said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the bank had delivered another year of strong growth, with gains across all business areas. The publicly listed bank saw its loans climb 36 percent to Rp 94.4 trillion as lending rose in all segments, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Higher loans throughout the 2012 period eventually led to an increase in the bank’s net interest income, which jumped 43 percent to Rp 5.9 trillion. However, despite its aggressive performance in net interest income, Bank Permata’s fee-based income only rose 7 percent to Rp 1.1 trillion year-on-year.

According to the bank, it also recorded a decline in its overall net non-performing loans (NPL) ratio, which is its ratio of bad loans. NPL fell to 0.4 percent from the previous 0.6 percent, below the 5 percent threshold set by Bank
Indonesia (BI).

Meanwhile, Bank Permata’s third-party funds (DPK) grew 27 percent to Rp 104.7 trillion. In the statement, the bank reported that its current accounts and savings accounts increased 23 percent and 32 percent to Rp 20.6 trillion and
Rp 20.4 trillion, respectively.

Its time deposits stood at Rp 56.5 trillion at the end of last year, 21 percent higher from 2011, while its sharia funding reached Rp 7.2 trillion, a staggering 97 percent growth year-on-year.

In 2012, the bank’s loan-to-deposit (LDR) ratio reached 89.5 percent, rising from 83.1 percent a year before. According to the latest BI data, Indonesian commercial banks had an average LDR of 79.4 percent as of November last year.

In an attempt to improve its capital, last year Bank Permata held a Rp 2 trillion rights issuance and two sub-debt issuances, worth Rp 2.5 trillion. The bank’s capital adequacy ratio (CAR) then climbed 179 basis points to 15.9 percent.

The bank’s sharia business unit showed an improvement in its net profits as well with net profits soaring 93 percent to Rp 256 billion. As of December 2012, the total assets of the sharia business unit stood at
Rp 10.6 trillion.

In 2012, the bank opened 20 new branch offices to expand its services. At the moment, it operates 287 conventional and 13 sharia branches, which serve around 2 million
customers.

By December 2012, the bank’s total assets reached Rp 131.8 trillion, while its liabilities and equities amounted to Rp 104.7 trillion and Rp 27.1 trillion, respectively.

Bank Permata’s shares closed at Rp 1,520 apiece on Wednesday, 0.7 percent higher from the previous day.