BNI Syariah to inaugurate 10 new branches

The lender also plans to open 28 sub- branches, including in Bali and Kalimantan, as it plans to boodt its assets by 50%.

PT Bank BNI Syariah, the Islamic-finance unit of PT Bank Negara Indonesia, will open 10 branches this year as it seeks to boost assets by 50 percent, said BNI Syariah President Director Rizqullah Thohuri.

The Shariah-compliant lender also plans to open 28 sub- branches, including in Bali and Kalimantan, Thohuri told reporters during a break at an Islamic finance conference in Jakarta on Tuesday. Bank Negara Indonesia is the nation’s third- biggest state-owned bank, as mentioned in a report in Bloomberg.

“We’re targeting assets to grow by 50 percent this year,” Thohari said. “The network expansion will help achieve the target.” BNI Syariah will also boost services in Islamic trade finance, Thohari added.

Indonesia’s Islamic banking assets rose to 100.3 trillion rupiah ($11.5 billion) at the end of last year, from 67 trillion rupiah at the end of 2009, according to central bank data. The country’s Shariah banking assets may expand 45 percent to 55 percent this year, Mulya Siregar, director of Islamic banking at Bank Indonesia, said Feb. 11.