by Elisa Valenta
Country's largest private lender by market value, PT Bank Central Asia (BCA), booked Rp 6.6 trillion in net profit in the first quarter this year, an 8.6% increase compared to the same period last year. The surge was attributed to loan and operational income growths.
BCA recorded operating income growth of 17.3 % year-on-year (YoY) to Rp 19.6 trillion supported by positive credit growth and CASA performance. As of March 2020, the bank's loan portfolio grew by 12.3% (YoY) to Rp 612.2 trillion.
The growth was mainly supported by corporate loans, which increased by 25.4 % (YoY) to Rp 260.4 trillion, while commercial and SME loans rose 5% (YoY) to Rp 191.2 trillion.
However, BCA has lowered its loan growth target to 5%-7% for this year, as the coronavirus outbreak may affect customers. As of May, the bank has restructured loans amounted to Rp 82.6 trillion, with 72,000 debtors, or equivalent to 14% of BCA's total loan portfolio. The company projected the loan restructure could widen to 30% of its entire credit portfolio for the next months.
"We are committed to helping customers through this uncertain economic condition due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," said BCA's President Director, Jahja Setiaatmadja, in a recent virtual conference.
Meanwhile, BCA's bad debt remains steady with a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 1.6%, while provision fees increased by 121.9% (YoY), which is in line with the anticipation of the weak credit quality.
