W

ith the launch of its new savings program, private lender PermataBank expects to book double-digit growth in its savings and deposits this year.

The lender'€™s retail banking director, Bianto Surodjo, said that the third-party funds, mostly in the form of savings and credits, would increase 10 percent this year despite sluggish growth last year.

By September 2015, its third-party funds increased only by 2 percent year-on-year (yoy) to Rp 151 trillion (US$10.9 billion).

'€œWe'€™re upbeat about it as PermataBank has a strong brand image with 334 branches in 62 cities and established online facilities,'€ he said on the sidelines of a saving campaign in Jakarta on Wednesday.

He said that to achieve such growth, the bank was conducting an aggressive savings campaign this year themed #SayangUangnya (save the money), to attract more people to save through its product called PermataTabungan Bebas (free savings).

The product gives customers 5 percent cash back from their total monthly transactions of at least
Rp 500,000 made with debit cards in any supermarket, gas stations and online shops as long as they keep their average monthly balance at Rp 5 million.

PermataTabungan Bebas offers interest rates of between of between zero percent and 2.25 percent annually, based on information obtained from the bank on Feb. 3.

The cash-back program was introduced since last year but only involved purchases in supermarket and gas stations. This year, the bank added online shops amid rising online shop purchases.

Brand and Marketing Institute (BMI) research showed that 57 percent of the country'€™s 250 million inhabitants shopped online in 2015 and estimated the transaction value to hit up to Rp 50 trillion last year.

The bank has also marketed the program through social media and its website, sayanguangnya.com, through which the public can test their consumerism level and get tips on how to live a frugal lifestyle.

'€œAs many Indonesians are still trapped with consumerism, we want to see more people spend only on what they need and save more for the future,'€ Bianto said.

The bank cited research from Kaden International Indonesia that said 28 percent of Indonesians spent more than what they earned. The lender has 15 other saving products targeting various age groups and income brackets. It also plans to open around 10 new branches nationwide to reach potential markets.

The efforts are part of its aim to maintain a stable loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR). As of September last year, the bank, the country'€™s seventh-largest lender by consolidated assets, recorded 88 percent LDR.

'€œWe want to keep the LDR between 87 percent and 90 percent this year as we don'€™t want to set it too high in these challenging economic conditions, and not too low as well as it won'€™t be efficient,'€ Bianto explained. (rbk)