Jahja Setiaatmadja: Simplicity for success

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Fifty years of Asia The profiles: 23 of the biggest names in Asia Zafrul Aziz Laura Cha Wei Sun Christianson Piyush Gupta Uday Kotak Reuben Lai Boon Chye Loh Agus Martowardojo Raghuram Rajan Weijian Shan Alan Smith Teh Hong Piow Tian Huiyu Sun Yu Nestor Tan Wee Ee Cheong Kartika Wirjoatmodjo Peter Wong Daniel Wu Wu Wei Joseph Yam Zeti Akhtar Aziz

Jahja Setiaatmadja runs Bank Central Asia, one of the most admired banks on the continent. Based in Indonesia – and resolute in the face of temptation to move internationally – it keeps things simple, is picky about clients and boasts some of the best ratios in the industry.

Jahja describes a promising domestic market coupled with challenges beyond its control. On the plus side, he says, the government expects economic growth of 5.3% this year, while domestic banking authorities expect third party funds to grow 8% to 10% and credit 13%.

“This optimism is a positive foundation for banks to set business targets and maintain performance,” he says.

But there’s a problem.