PREDICTIONS made by several economists that government banks would get trapped by non-performing loans (NPLs) do not seem to have much weight. Just take a glance at the new reports that were published last month. State-owned banks such as PT Bank Negara Indonesia Tbk. (BNI), PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk. (BRI), and PT Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) in fact recorded a decrease in net NPLs. Only PT Bank Mandiri Tbk. actually recorded an increase.

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