BI TO KEEP COUNTRY`S LIQUIDITY SECURE

Jakarta, Oct 8 (ANTARA) - Bank Indonesia (BI) Senior Deputy Governor Miranda S Goeltom said the central bank would safeguard the country's liquidity which had shrunk as a result of the US financial crisis.
"BI will loosen liquidity in an orderly and measured way according to need," she said at a press conference.
She said the relaxation of liquidity would be done without disrupting its rupiah and inflation control policies.
She said the bank had already started doing that by adjusting the REPO interest rate from BI Rate plus 300 to BI Rate plus 100 as well as the Bank Indonesia Deposit Facility from BI Rate minus 200 to BI Rate minus 100.
Besides that it had also extended the term of REPO (repurchase agreement) facility from 14 days to 90 days and "this will give a lot of psychological effect," she said.
BI Deputy Governor Mulyaman D Hadad said BI also intended to ease the reserve requirement for banks. "In the future the requirement will not be linked to the lending-to-deposit ratio," he said.
The reserve requirement will be implemented with consideration to ratio of cash and secondary reserve such as securities.
At present he said the liquidity situation was already starting to improve. Credit growth was down 1.1 percent (month-on-month) and would improve liquidity, he said.
BI Deputy Governor Budi Mulya meanwhile said the auction of Bank Indonesia Certificate (SBI) on Wednesday yieled a cash inflow of Rp33 trillion.