A path will not be created until you start walking, wrote Paulo Coelho. It’s a quote that senior bankers at Bank Mandiri’s wealth management unit like to share with clients: It is their way of saying the bank doesn’t just talk the talk for clients in southeast Asia’s biggest economy.
Walking the walk of capital preservation has rarely been more important than in the past 18 months of global turmoil. Here, Bank Mandiri’s wealth arm has a clear advantage, given it operates under the umbrella of an institution that got its start at a time when many international observers worried that Indonesia might not make it.
Bank Mandiri was founded in October 1998, at the height of the Asian financial crisis. It was an arranged marriage of sorts between four state-owned banks with origins dating back 140 years. The bank formed the origin story of today’s thriving Indonesian financial sector, with Bank Mandiri at the top as the largest bank by assets.
The trust, reach and analytical capabilities that backstory engenders explain why Bank Mandiri is the go-to firm for high net worth Indonesians. The numbers speak for themselves. At the end of February, net total assets under management jumped 8.6%