Jakarta. The government will transfer Rp 200 trillion or around $12 billion to five state-controlled banks by Friday evening, according to Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, with BNI and Mandiri each getting more than a quarter of the money.

This is part of the newly minted minister’s attempt to spur economic activities via loan disbursements.

In this rollout, three main state lenders, BNI, BRI, and Mandiri, will each receive Rp 55 trillion (nearly $3.4 billion). BSI -- the Islamic bank that was the result of the merger between the three banks’ sharia units -- will receive Rp 10 trillion ($610.9 million). The remaining Rp 25 trillion ($1.5 billion) will go to BTN.

Purbaya said that BSI got the smallest portion due to its bank’s size, which is comparably smaller than the rest. The government decided to inject some money into BSI as it is the only bank that has access to Aceh province. 

According to Purbaya, the government has been keeping the money meant for state spending at the country’s central bank. Moving the money out of Bank Indonesia will enable the commercial banks to use the unspent funds.

“This way, even if we [the government] don’t spend the money, our banks can access it to drive economic activities,” Purbaya told the press in Jakarta.

“We want to create liquidity in the financial system, so the banks will be urged to issue loans.” 

The Rp 200 trillion will make its way to the banks in the form of “deposit on call”. This scheme allows the government to have ready access to the funds at any time. 

“But this is nothing to worry about. We have enough [state money] to spend, and we will manage it well. So we [the government] would not suddenly withdraw everything,” Purbaya told reporters.

Purbaya also dropped hints that the government might even inject more money into lenders if necessary, citing that the Rp 200 trillion was only the “first phase”. He stated: “Let’s see. If it’s still not enough, we will transfer more money.” 

Chief economic affairs minister Airlangga Hartarto gave a brief yet positive comment on the Rp 200 trillion deposit earlier that day.

“Boosting the liquidity in the market is always good,” Airlangga said, shortly before his meeting with Purbaya.

Indonesia reported that its bank credit issuance only grew 7.03 percent year-on-year (yoy) in July 2025. This indicated a decline compared to the previous month, in which the numbers reached 7.77 percent.