Mrs. Rusli, who has just visited Bangkok for the first time since her appointment, will draw on her deep experience in digital strategy and the regional and Indonesian financial sectors to help deliver PermataBank’s strategy to become Indonesia’s leading deposit and wealth franchise. She will also focus on driving best-in-class innovation and technology development and strengthening collaboration between PermataBank, one of Indonesia’s 10 largest banks, and Bangkok Bank, said Mr Chartsiri Sophonpanich, President of Bangkok Bank and President Commissioner of PermataBank.
“Bangkok Bank and PermataBank’s Board of Commissioners welcomes the appointment of Meliza Rusli as President Director,” said Mr Sophonpanich. “Under her leadership, PermataBank will strengthen its position in Indonesia and help create sustainable value for customers by supporting them as a trusted partner and reliable close friend. This will help build Bangkok Bank’s position as a leading regional bank with a domestic footprint in Southeast Asia’s two largest economies, Indonesia and Thailand.”
Mrs Meliza Rusli, President Director PermataBank said, “I am honored to be given this opportunity to lead PermataBank. We will focus on serving our customers and ecosystem partners by helping them achieve sustainable growth as the economy starts to recover in the post pandemic environment. We will also focus on helping Indonesia companies seek growth opportunities across ASEAN and beyond supported by Bangkok Bank’s knowledge, connections, long history in Indonesia and robust international network. These synergies with Bangkok Bank will also help us build connections with Thai and other regional businesses looking to invest in Indonesia.”
Bangkok Bank has a long history in Indonesia having opened its first branch in Jakarta in 1968. Since Bangkok Bank completed its historic $2.3 billion (Baht 73,722 million) acquisition of and integration with PermataBank, which was the largest intra-ASEAN bank acquisition, the two banks have been working to synergise their operations, strengths and customer base. In 2021, PermataBank’s total assets grew by 18.5%, deposits increased by 23.5% and trade volume increased by 60%.
PermataBank also successfully executed its first cross-border trade finance transaction between Indonesia and Thailand using blockchain technology. This was supported by the collaboration between PermataBank and Bangkok Bank, which was the first bank in Thailand to conduct trade finance transactions using blockchain.
Mrs Rusli’s appointment replaces Mr. Chalit Tayjasanant, who will later resume his role as a member of the Board of Commissioners of PermataBank, subject to approval from the Financial Services Authority of Indonesia (OJK). Mr Sophonpanich said, “We would like to offer our greatest appreciation to Mr. Chalit Tayjasanant for his contributions and achievements in moving PermataBank forward during this transitional period.”
Mrs Rusli has extensive experience in the Indonesian and global financial industry and has served in senior leadership roles in global financial firms, including Goldman Sachs and Accenture, as well as Chief of Group Digital Strategy at PT Astra International Tbk and President Director of Astra Pay.
Her appointment as President Director was approved by shareholders at PermataBank’s Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on 20 May 2022. Her position has also been approved by the OJK.
Bangkok Bank acquired PermataBank in 2020 and currently holds a 98.71% stake in the subsidiary. The investment was driven by Bangkok Bank’s regional expansion strategy to strengthen its position as Thailand’s most international bank and as a leading diversified regional bank. Synergies between Bangkok Bank and PermataBank will also help support investment and trade between the two countries as well as the broader development of financial connectivity and integration across ASEAN.
Bangkok Bank’s international loan portfolio stands at 25% of its total portfolio, rising from 17% before the PermataBank acquisition.
