Banking credits expected to grow at 24 pct this year

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Director of Banking Management and Research Affairs of Bank Indonesia (BI), Halim Alamsyah, said the central bank had estimated banking credits in 2007 would grow by 24 percent.

"Up to the third week of October 2007, the growth of banking credits had reached 23.95 percent driven by consumption credit expansion," he said on the sidelines of a seminar on financial stability research at Bank Indonesia`s office building here on Monday.

The central bank has set the lending growth target at 22 percent in 2007.

He said consumption credits had increased due to expansion of lending on credit cards.

Credit growth was also driven by increasing demand for credits in the investment and working capital sectors at the end of 2007.

"There is credit expansion for investment and for working capital," he said.

In the first ten months of 2007, BI recorded that the amount of new credit provision by banks had reached Rp168 trillion, exceeding this year`s target at Rp150 trillion.

"This has exceeded the target," Halim said.

Therefore, when asked on the credit growth next year, Halim said it could achieve a range between 24 percent and 25 percent.