Optimistic about its future, small-scale lender Bank Sahabat Sampoerna, also known as Bank Sampoerna, is focusing on improving its current business to pave the way to a higher status in the future.

The bank, which is owned by diversified conglomerate Sampoerna Strategic Group, considers itself to be on solid ground, according to bank executives, and plans to upgrade its status next year.

'€œOur shareholders have already promised the Financial Services Authority [OJK] that we will be a BUKU II bank by June next year,'€ Bank Sampoerna head of finance and business planning Henky Suryaputra said during a visit to The Jakarta Post'€™s office on Thursday.

Banks in the BUKU II category have core capital between Rp 1 trillion (US$73.4 million) and Rp 5 trillion. At present, Bank Sampoerna falls under BUKU I, with core capital of less than Rp 1 trillion, posting Rp 722.4 billion as of September.

Henky said an upgrade to BUKU II would benefit the bank, which would then be allowed to expand its business, for example by engaging in foreign exchange transactions, selling investment products and developing internet and mobile banking services.

Ong Tek Tjan, the bank'€™s director of small and medium enterprise, funding, financial institutions and network, said the OJK had allowed the bank to operate internet banking services with limited features, despite its BUKU 1 status, following the status upgrade commitment.

A status upgrade would help the bank to strengthen confidence and loyalty from existing and prospective customers, Henky added, as it operated as part of Sampoerna group, which already had a strong brand image.

'€œAs for going public, of course we have that plan for the long term, but we'€™re not thinking about it too much; for now, we want to focus on developing current business,'€ he explained.

The bank'€™s shareholders include widely diversified business group Sampoerna Strategic Group through PT Sampoerna Investama, as well as retail giant Alfa Group through PT Cakrawala Mulia Prima.

Sampoerna Strategic Group is currently under the supervision of Michael Sampoerna, the youngest son of Putra Sampoerna, a one-time denizen of Forbes'€™ list of the world'€™s richest people and one of Indonesia'€™s biggest philanthropists.

Business under the group are engaged in the agri-business and telecommunications sectors. The company sold its massive cigarette interests, its original core business, to Philip Morris International in 2005, and has since diversified.

Sampoerna'€™s strong commitment to developing the bank had been evident since 2011, Henky said, when the group decided to continue acquisition of Bank Dipo Internasional, the lender'€™s previous name, after postponing the corporate action in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis.

'€œAfter the deferral, Sampoerna group decided to establish a cooperative called Koperasi Mitra Sejati, which has been our partner since then and is continuing to grow, with 130 branches nationwide currently,'€ Henky said.

As of September, Bank Sampoerna saw its net profits skyrocket by 295.6 percent growth to Rp 39.3 billions from Rp 9.95 billion in the same period last year.

Its loans meanwhile jumped 93.9 percent to Rp 4.25 trillion in the year'€™s first nine months from Rp 2.19 trillion in the same period last year.

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