Despite Indonesia's macroeconomic conditions and liquidity experiencing a correction, Fitch Ratings believes that Indonesia's major banks are able to withstand a reasonably high degree of asset-quality stress, mainly due to the banks' strong standalone loss absorption cushions and likely support from highly rated foreign parent companies. Because of the banks' sound earnings buffers, they are expected to cope with the higher non-performing loans (NPLs) which are expected to emerge in the next one or two years ahead.

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According to Indonesia's central bank (Bank Indonesia), the higher benchmark interest rate (BI rate) will slow down credit growth in the Indonesian banking sector from a current pace of 19.6 percent (after second week of August 2013) to around 18 percent. The BI rate was raised to 7.0 percent last week. Besides the BI rate, both the lending facility rate and the deposit facility rate (Fasbi) were raised to 7.0 percent and 5.25 percent respectively to support the rupiah, while curbing inflationary pressures.

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