Jakarta
Indonesia’s top three state-owned banks, which are among the country’s biggest lenders, saw their net profits fall to record lows in 2020 as a result of weak loan demand and flagging asset quality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bank Mandiri saw its profit dip by 37.7 percent year-on-year (yoy) to Rp 17.1 trillion (US$1.21 billion) last year, its lowest since 2016. Meanwhile, Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) saw an even steeper drop in net profits, by 45.8 percent and 78.7 percent yoy respectively, the lowest since 2012 for BRI and since 2009 for BNI. Praus Capital research head Alfred Nainggolan said state-owned banks had it particularly bad last year because the government had ordered them to actively restructure the loans of millions of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). “State-owned banks had to deal with losing inte...