Raphael Pura, Semarang – PT Bank Harapan Sentosa depositors who came to its big branch here Monday looking for what remains of their money were met by armed police rather than smiling tellers.
"You might as well all go home, we have no more announcements to make," a security officer of the bank told them through a bullhorn. "There's no need to be here."
During the day, hundreds of depositors came to the gate of the gleaming 10-story bank building in this bustling Central Java port. They didn't panic, but they expressed anxiety and bitterness. To ensure that anger didn't boil over in the broiling sun, a detachment of police armed with automatic weapons took up positions atop the staircase leading to the bank's lobby.
Throughout Monday, similar scenes took place in Indonesian cities at branches of the 16 banks that authorities closed Saturday. Jakarta bankers said they weren't aware of panic or violence anywhere. They said that branches of several banks that weren't closed but which have been the subject of closure rumors were hit by heavy withdrawals, but it was business as usual for most banks.
Payments Planned for Nov. 13
"We got through the day OK," one Indonesian banking executive said. "People are anxious, but I don't think there was any real trouble."
The crowds outside individual branches of the closed banks weren't huge; it appeared that many depositors knew they couldn't begin to get any money back Monday. The government has announced procedures for paying up to 20 million rupiah ($6,100, at Monday's exchange rate) to individual account holders, with payments beginning Nov. 13 at branches of state-owned banks.
As expected, the bank drawing the largest number of anxious depositors was Bank Harapan Sentosa, the biggest of the 16 closed banks.
At the Semarang branch of the bank, known as BHS, customers complained bitterly. Yanto, a businessman in his mid-30s, said the shutdown of the branch was the result of "trickery" by untrustworthy bankers and bureaucrats. Upset that he will get only 20 million rupiah in the near future, he yelled: "When do we get the rest? We don't know."
Far more quietly, a retired nurse said she needs to withdraw some of her pension money, which is paid into the branch, to meet routine living expenses. "Never mind, just don't eat this month," chimed in Sukarman, a retired engineer, who said he always kept his money at BHS because it offered high interest rates on savings accounts.
In Jakarta, the whereabouts of Hendra Rahardja, the principal owner of BHS, were unknown.
Expressions of Regret
On Monday, customers also flocked to the second-biggest bank that closed, PT Bank Pacific. It is partly owned by Bank Indonesia, the country's central bank, and the family of Ibnu Sutowo, a longtime ally of President Suharto and the former president of the state oil company, Pertamina.
Outside a Bank Pacific branch in central Jakarta, Andriani, a 42-year-old businesswoman, expressed regret that she listened to a bank officer rather than to her sister about the state of Bank Pacific. "The bank officer told me it's impossible for the government to close the bank because its owner is close to the president's family," Ms. Andriani said.
At some branches of closed banks, police kept the public out while allowing employees to enter. On Monday, Finance Minister Mar'ie Muhammad said the government will arrange to give all the employees of the closed banks three months' pay. The minister has also estimated that the government will spend 2.3 trillion rupiah to help the depositors of the 16 closed banks obtain a maximum of 20 million rupiah each.
Government officials on Monday renewed appeals for people to remain calm and not to believe rumors that more banks will be shut.
[Richard Borsuk and Puspa Madani contributed to this article.]