REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Vice Chairman of the National Bank Association (Perbanas) Farid Rahman assessed that the banking industry should formulate a strategy to face intense competition from foreign banks in the ASEAN Economic Community (MEA) by 2015.

"Banks face strong competition, especially in the MEA, particularly in the availability of funds," Farid Rahman stated here on Monday.

Farid noted that one of the strategies for dealing with the MEA was developing financial products in accordance with customer needs.

"The financial sector should generate profits in the open market. Financial institutions must be open to changes," Farid affirmed.

According to Farid, banking technology services should be developed to reap the maximum potential of third-party funds in Indonesia.

Farid was optimistic that the Indonesian banking industry can be a host while the country's local banks remain competitive in the presence of foreign banks.

"The banking sector should be ready to face the MEA," he emphasized.

Farid remarked that the positive growth of the banking sector in Indonesia can help the banks to grow.

As of June 2014, the ratio of loans to deposits (LDR) reached 90.25 percent, which indicated a high credit growth as compared to the growth of third-party funds.

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