Jakarta – The third quarter financial reports of Indonesia's biggest banks show that the banking industry in the country remains one of the world's most profitable, as banks retained th

Brazil will represent Timor Leste's (East Timor) interests at the International Monetary fund (IMF) starting on 1 November, the Timorese government said in a statement issued Tuesday in

The rupiah weakened for a sixth month, its longest losing streak since 1998, on concern Europe's debt crisis will damp growth and exports.

Esther Samboh, Jakarta – The chiefs of local commercial banks are the highest paid among their peers in four Southeast Asian nations surveyed, according to the central bank.

Esther Samboh, Jakarta – Bank Indonesia's move to limit bank ownership is not likely deter foreign investors, although the move will expose it to lobbying and political pressure to gran

Indonesia's central bank Wednesday announced new regulations limiting bank ownership to 40 percent.

Esther Samboh, Jakarta – There is mounting concern that the Financial Services Authority (OJK) will be unable to provide better and more reliable supervision as most of the 21 candidate

Shirley Wibisono – When Indonesia's longest suspension bridge suddenly collapsed last month, killing more than 20 people, allegations immediately surfaced that corruption was behind the

Esther Samboh, Jakarta – The governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) is slamming inefficiency in the country's banking industry that he says pushes up lending rates and blocks the nation from e

Dion Bisara – Indonesia is one step closer to slashing a number of zeros from the rupiah after the government on Tuesday said it would submit a currency redenomination bill to the House

Dion Bisara – After a long delay, the House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that will create a new superbody to supervise the country's financial sector, including banking

Jakarta – The House of Representatives on Thursday finally endorsed the Law on Financial Service Authority (OJK), which rules on the establishment of a new authority tasked with regulat

Dili – The new monetary authority of East Timor will be called the East Timor Central Bank and will be inaugurated on 13 September, according to information published on the Central Ban

Dion Bisara – In an unprecedented move, the central bank has barred Citibank Indonesia from acquiring new credit card customers for two years, priority banking customers for one year an

Ulma Nurriva – The alleged beating death of a politician, allegedly at the hands of Citibank debt collectors, has sparked a debate on whether the use of outsourced debt collectors, who

Muhamad Al Azhari – Indonesian commercial banks posted healthy 26.74 percent growth in net profit last year, central bank data showed Monday.

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja – An aggressive drive by Indonesia's banks has succeeded in putting more plastic in their customers' hands, but it seems to be giving rise to a generation mired in

A global survey has placed five Indonesian lenders among the world's top 500 banking brands – but the country's central bank says Indonesian institutions are still the most inefficient

Dion Bisara – After months of pressure from the market and economists, Bank Indonesia on Friday raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 6.75 percent, citing

Francezka Nangoy & Faisal Maliki Baskoro – The central bank plans to compel domestic lenders to increase their foreign exchange reserves deposited at Bank Indonesia starting in Marc

Dion Bisara – Loans by Indonesian commercial banks this year have grown 23 percent to Rp 1,708.15 trillion ($190 billion) from the same period a year ago, Bank Indonesia said.

Francezka Nangoy – In keeping with recent history, Finance Ministry data released on Tuesday showed that the government had spend just over half the national budget so far this year.

Jakarta – The Directorate General of Taxation announced that income revenue as of Oct 31 reached Rp 485.1 trillion (US$54.8 billion), a 13 percent increase from the same period last yea

Jakarta – The Directorate General of Taxation said on Monday it raised Rp 444.2 trillion ($49.74 billion) in tax revenues in the first nine months of this year, up 18 percent from the s

Jakarta – Regional administrations will have greater local tax potential following the implementation of a new law on regional tax and levies that would give them the authority to colle

Dion Bisara, Jakarta – An initiative by the central bank encouraging poor Indonesians to open bank accounts has attracted little interest from the tens of millions of low-income citizen

Irvan Tisnabudi, Jakarta – As the economy gains steam, banks are growing more aggressive in marketing credit cards to increasingly wealthy consumers, targeting 25 percent increases on t

Dion Bisara, Camelia Pasandaran & Reuters – Jakarta – The days when small shops give change in sweets instead of contemptible Rp 100 or Rp 200 coins will be a thing of the past – so

The rupiah hit its highest level since July 2007 on Monday as foreign investors continued to snap up Indonesia's financial assets, leading some exporters to express concerns about its s

Heru Andriyanto & Armando Siahaan – After surviving criticism from the public and lawmakers over his part in approving the Bank Century bailout, Vice President Boediono was accused

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – Praises for achievements made by Indonesia's financial sector in 2009, which include surviving an unprecedented global liquidity crisis, seem to be overshadowed

Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – The regional stock market collapse, tumbling commodity prices and the fall in the value of the local currency have taken a toll on the country's 40 wealthiest

Aditya Suharmoko and Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – The rupiah suffered its biggest daily drop in nearly 10 months on Friday, falling by 1.3 percent to close at 9,375 against the US dollar,

Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – The Asian Development Bank's (ADB) move to revise its 1995 safeguard policy drew strong criticism from Indonesian civil society organizations Tuesday.

Jakarta – An anti-debt group is demanding the government stop adding debt to fund the state budget because they said most of the agreed loan commitments have not yet been disbursed.

John A. Prasetio, Jakarta – A decade ago, almost without warning, the Asian economic crisis arrived to challenge the "East Asia Miracle" thesis of the World Bank.

Binny Buchori, Jakarta – What do we remember about the economic crisis of 10 years ago?

James Castle, Jakarta – For anyone involved in business or policy in developing Asia, the boom and bust of the 1990s are the defining events of the last twenty years.

Vincent Lingga, Jakarta – In early July 1997, when the Thai baht crashed and lost more than 50 percent of its value against the dollar immediately after the Bank of Thailand floated the

Jakarta – Outstanding loans to small and medium enterprises amount to Rp 426 trillion (about US$47.33 billion), or more than 50 percent of the total loans extended by the banking indust

Jakarta – Dress smart if you want to convince the bank manager you deserve a loan. But for businesswomen, they should also bring their husbands along.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Continuing high global oil prices have put Indonesia's fiscal stability teetering on a tightrope as the oil-producing country fails to benefit from the situation

M Fajar Marta, Jakarta – The domination of foreign interests in the domestic banking industry continues to grow.

Leony Aurora, Jakarta – Major players in the banking industry have welcomed Bank Indonesia's effort to speed up the sector's consolidation through a new policy on the injection of funds

Jakarta – The Indonesian government Tuesday issued Rp 2 trillion ($1=IDR8,457) of bonds with a weighted average yield of 11.57%, the finance ministry said.

Sandy Darmosumarto, Jakarta – The lack of financial institutions in the eastern part of Indonesia is the main reason for the state-owned pawnshop company Perum Pegadaian to further expa

Jakarta – US investment firm Farallon has won the bidding to buy Bank Central Asia (BCA), Indonesia's largest retail bank, the government said Thursday.

Jakarta – A political stalemate and lack of legal certainty are hampering efforts to reform and restructure Indonesia's banks, Moody's Investors Service warned Monday.

Dili – Indonesia's currency, the rupiah, especially of the Rp 5000 to Rp 50000 denomination, is still legally accepted as a means of exchange in Timor Lorosae, along with the US dollar.

Joe Leahy – Building a central bank from scratch in one of the world's poorest countries was never going to be easy.