Indonesia’s Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara said the Ministry of Finance is controlling deposit rates for its Public Service Agency, known as Badan Layanan Umum, at 80 percent of the BI-Rate. The move is meant to prevent a deposit rate war among large fund holders. Bank Indonesia held the BI-Rate at 5.75 percent at its Board of Governors meeting on 20-21 October 2026, which implies a ceiling of about 4.6 percent for the agency’s deposits.
Nazara made the remarks on Friday, 23 October 2026, at the inauguration of senior leadership. He asked the newly installed Directorate General of Treasury head, Tri Budhianto, to draft regulations that would give the control a legal basis.
Rationale for the cap
Nazara said the ministry’s role is to keep interest rates from rising too high. “This is the contribution of the Ministry of Finance so that interest rates do not become too high, so that a deposit rate war does not occur among large fund holders,” he said.
The ministry can place government funds not only at the central bank but also at commercial banks, and those placements affect how interest rates form in the financial market.
Earlier policy under Purbaya
The same approach was used earlier by Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, a former finance minister, who limited deposit rates of special mission vehicles under the ministry to lower bank lending rates. He acted after Himbara state banks complained that they were paying deposit rates of up to 8 to 9 percent.
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Purbaya said the banks’ Treasury staff told him they were under pressure. “They said they were pressed, they still pay 8-9%, so their cost of capital rises and they cannot lower lending rates either,” he said. He added that the aim was to lower lending rates and accelerate growth in the second half of 2026.
Source: Bank Indonesia · Ministry of Finance
