JEDDAH — The Islamic Banking industry in Indonesia received a new boost with the entrance of PT Bank NTB Syariah. The bank has successfully converted from a conventional bank into a full-fledged Syariah bank, which was officially launched on Thursday (Sept. 13).

The launching ceremony took place in Mataram, Indonesia, in presence of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private sector (ICD), the private sector arm of IsDB Group, which assisted NTB in the conversion process as a technical advisor.

The ceremony was also attended by dignitaries such as; West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Governor (Dr. Zainul Majdi), Central Bank of Indonesia, and Financial Services Authority of Indonesia (OJK).

“All eyes in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province will be on us. Therefore, walk with good guidelines, make sure our regional bank becomes much stronger,” aspired the Governor of NTB.

He mentioned that as the largest shareholder, the government will always continue to support the progress and achieve success. He expects the Bank NTB Syariah to accomplish greater trust with the community advocating on the transparent and accountable of the conversion process.

The governor appreciated and thanked Bank NTB staff for their sincerity and dedication. He highlighted the importance of banking in driving the regional economy and concluded stating that "all stakeholders contribute in development and growth of NTB".

PT Bank NTB was established in July 1954. It is a regional/provincial bank having its domicile in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara province. The bank operates and runs 43 branches including Head Office, 1 main branch, 11 branches, 22 sub-branches and 9 cash offices.

The Bank’s conversion vision started back in 2004 when it opened a Syariah division (Islamic window) and today the bank has been converted into full-fledged Islamic Bank (PT Bank NTB Syariah).

Mohamed Maher Mannai, the program manager of Islamic Financial Institutions, stated that Bank NTB Syariah is focused on offering suitable Islamic banking products and services to its clients in line with their needs while promoting ethical values, social philosophy, and positive impact on the real economy.