SEVEN years ago, Bank Indonesia, as the lender of last resort, had already disbursed funds amounting to Rp144.5 trillion to a total of 48 banks that were at deaths door because of the monetary crisis. This was a consequence of the bank guarantee program that the government had introduced in 1998.

A further Rp14.447 trillion was added to this on January 29, 1999, meaning that total bank debt in the form of Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance (BLBI