TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Financial Services Authority (OJK) has suggestged to delay the plan to merge Islamic state banks until all sharia banks can be categorized as BUKU 3, or having a core capital of Rp5 trillion to Rp30 trillion.

OJK board of commissioners' chairman Muliaman D. Hadad, said that a delay would give the banks a chance to improve their capital adequacies, so they can compete in the ASEAN level.

Mr. Hadad said that there is yet a limit on the ideal level of capital adequacy ratio (CAR) for state sharia banks to compete the ASEAN region. "The bigger the capital, the better," he said in Jakarta yesterday.

According to Mr. Hadad, the plan to merge state Islamic banks is still being reviewed by the regulator. Hadad hopes the government will inject sufficient capitals to the banks in a bid to prepare them for the ASEAN Economic Community in the banking sector in 2020.

Currently, PT Bank BNI Syariah, PT Bank Syariah Mandiri and PT Bank BRI Syariah are still categorized as BUKU 2 banks with equities between Rp1 trillion to Rp5 trillion. Meanwhile, the sharia unit of PT Bank Tabungan Negara (Persero) Tbk. is still integrated with the company—not a separate entity.

The SOE Ministry spokesman Teddy Poernama said the plan to merge sharia banks is aimed at increasing the market penetration of Islamic banks in Indonesia, a country with the largest Muslim population in the world.

JAYADI SUPRIADIN | ANDI RUSLI | ODELIA SINAGA