OJK: Credit Would Only Grow 5% if Vaccination Slow
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11 February 2021 19:04 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Financial Services Authority or OJK said that credit demand would fall if the vaccination program progresses slowly, and the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread uncontrollably.
"[The growth] could be corrected to 5 percent," Heru Kristiana, the OJK's chief executive of banking supervision, in a discussion aired by CNBC Indonesia, Thursday, February 11.
However, if the economy recovers faster in the first quarter of 2021, the demand for credit will grow and the liquidity easing policy remains as it is today, he is optimistic that credit can grow by seven to nine percent.
"If vaccination runs effectively and the economy starts growing in the second semester of 2021, I am optimistic that credit growth can reach seven percent," he said.
That optimism, he said, is supported by government efforts to spur credit demand. The OJK, he added, also encourages banks to digitize credit disbursement in order to reach more people.
Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia is optimistic that credit growth will reach seven to nine percent.
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