Public Funds Held By Banks In Bali Up

Denpasar, Bali, June 14 (Antara) - Public funds held by banks by end of March in Bali rose to Rp55.9 trillion from Rp54.9 trillion three months earlier. The total amount of public funds held by banks in Bali increased from the previous quarter but the growth was slower, Bank Indonesia`s chief representative in Denpasar Dwi Pranoto said. The growth was only 19.37 percent on-year in the first quarter of 2013 , down from 20.49 percent on-year in the last quarter of 2012, Dwi Pranoto said here on Friday Low interest on deposits amid rising inflation discouraged people from putting their money in bank, he said. Another factor causing the decline in growth was growing demand for funds for investment and consumption, he added. The increase in investment is reflected by the result of a survey that showed brisker business in Bali, especially in tourism industry, he said. There are many tourism related projects being built in Bali especially ahead of the summit meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to be held in the world`s major tourist destination island. Meanwhile, consumption grew especially with the start of academic year and religious day festivities such as Galungan, Kuningan and Nyepi. Dwi Pranoto said state banks still recorded a fairly high growth in third party funds - up 23.30 percent in the first quarter of this year though slowing from 23.43 percent in the previous quarter. The growth recorded by private lenders was only 15.05 percent , down from 17.41 percent .