Finance firms fight new scheme
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Several finance and insurance institutions in Indonesia are against the proposal that they start supporting the Financial Services Authority (OJK).
The OJK, a financial “superbody”, was created to take over the monitoring of financial services, previously the work of the Indonesian Capital Market and Financial Institution Supervisory Agency and Bank Indonesia.
The fee-collection scheme was floated last November. Under the scheme, financial institutions must pay 0.06 per cent of their total assets to support OJK, starting this year.
During a two-year transition period, institutions will pay half their obligation of 0.03 per cent this year, rising to 0.045 per cent in 2014 and ultimately to 0.06 per cent in 2015.
Automobile finance company PT BCA Finance’s president director Roni Haslim acknowledged that the OJK needed funds to finance its operations, but argued that the scheme was only one way of acquiring them. “The size of the fees must be calculated thoroughly. If it is too high, it will increase our costs,” he said. BCA Finance will pass the cost of the OJK fee over to its customers by charging higher interest.
The Association of General Insurance Companies (AAUI) also objects. AAUI executive director Julian Noor wants to see the OJK prove itself in its first year before members are required to pay fees.
