Citibank NA Indonesia posted a net profit of 2.4 trillion Rupiah ($170.51 million) in the first nine months of the year, a 70 percent jump from the same period last year despite lower loan disbursements.
The increase in profit was driven by increases in the bank’s non-interest income and net interest income, as well as a lower cost of credit, said Citibank CEO Batara Sianturi at a media briefing last week.
«We managed to close the third quarter with a solid financial performance...the (above) three factors have contributed to the bank's profit growth,» he said.
Outlook For Loans
However, the bank's loan disbursement fell 7.8 percent year-on-year to 44.8 trillion Rupiah as of September.«The lower loan portfolio occurred mainly in the financial intermediary, mining and communication sectors but we compensated for the (loan) growth in the trade and processing industries,» Citibank financial controller Pranadi Wangsa told reporters during the same briefing.
This was in line with the weak demand for corporate loans as businesses adopted a wait-and-see approach given the global economic and geopolitical uncertainties, said Bank Indonesia's Governor Perry Warjiyo. Bank Indonesia's latest data show that bank lending slowed to 8.6 percent year on year in August, the weakest growth rate in almost two years and lower than the 9.58 percent rate in July.
The lender projects a 10 percent decrease in loan disbursement until the end of the year.
