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125th anniversary: BRI looks forward to resolutely serving the nation
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(Courtesy of BRI)
T
he ongoing pandemic may have caused the 125th anniversary celebration to be held virtually, but the festive mood on Dec. 16 palpably carried a message about the corporate resilience Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) has shown during the difficult times and its pledge to deliver the best to the nation.
As many as 125,000 employees across five countries celebrated a century and quarter since the national lender began serving Indonesia.
Employees in the United States, Singapore, Timor Leste, Hong Kong and Indonesia took part in the celebration with excitement and confidence about the future.
Themed "For Indonesia BRILIaN”, the commemoration was preceded by a successful micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) exhibition called the 2020 BRI UKM EXPO (RT) BRILIANPRENEUR from Dec. 1 to 15.
Among the celebrative highlights included the presentation of tokens of appreciation to high achieving employees, tumpeng (rice cone) ceremonies, panel discussions, art performances by regional employees and top managerial officers, giveaways of door prizes/cash prizes and book launches.
BRI launched two special books titled 125 Tahun (125 Years) and Bersih-bersih Kali (River Clean-Up).
The first book tells about BRI’s journey and the history of its operations since it was first founded in 1895.
The second book sheds light on the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) program, particularly in revitalizing rivers into environmental and social sanctuaries in 19 regions across Indonesia.
The revitalization programs, which have made the rivers cleaner and more beneficial to the community, is one of a series of BRI’s CSR programs prominently carried out this year to mark the company’s 125th anniversary.
As one of the government’s main partners in reviving the pandemic-impacted national economy, BRI has carried out its BRI Care program to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 by distributing 8,981 items of personal protective equipment, over 1.3 million masks, 6,812 bottles of hand sanitizer, over 259,000 packages of basic needs, and establishing 6,247 handwashing stations.
Other emergency responses have included the provision of 107 ambulances, scholarship programs for 5,000 students, free glasses for 5,000 students, facilities and infrastructure assistance to 1,000 markets to support the adaptation to new habits as well as 125,000 masks, the design model of which was selected from the Mask Design Competition among BRI customers.
BRI president director Sunarso said the 125th anniversary served as a great opportunity for BRI to remain committed to delivering the best to the nation.
“BRI is grateful for people’s trust and is committed to MSME empowerment and economic improvement in Indonesia. BRI will continue to provide support for MSMEs because this business sector plays an important role in the national economy,” he said.
Recently named the best CEO, Sunarso said that with 125 years of dedication, BRI had passed the test of time and not even the pandemic had whatsoever undermined its commitment to MSMEs and the national economy as a whole, driven by the transformation movement within the company.
“In the future, BRI must serve as many people as possible at the lowest possible cost – go smaller, faster, shorter and cheaper. Through a transformation movement, BRI now provides various digital banking services that are much more efficient and more accessible to a wider market,” he said.
BRI's relentless efforts to support the national economic recovery have borne results with the company showing positive growth up to September despite the pandemic.
The BRI MSME Index (BMSI) increased from 65.5 to 84.2 in the third quarter of 2020 and is expected to further increase to 109.3 in the fourth quarter of 2020.
The total distribution of BRI financial credit reached Rp 935.35 trillion, which was a 4.86 percent growth compared to the same period last year. It also showed a higher growth than the industrial credit of 0.12 percent (OJK data for September 2020).
The composition of BRI's MSME loans compared to the total loans extended by BRI grew significantly, from 78.1 percent in the third quarter of 2019 to 80.65 percent in the third quarter of 2020.
"We will continue to work together with MSME players to face the pandemic challenges in order to encourage the economy to move on. This is BRI's commitment to provide value to society and the BRILIaN community in Indonesia,” Sunarso said.
Information about BRI can be accessed through the website www.bri.co.id
