FINANCE MINISTER: BANK CENTURY CASE COSTLY LESSON

Jakarta, March 1 (ANTARA) - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the Bank Century bailout was a costly lesson she hoped would spur bankers to maximize their governance.

"What bankers have conveyed gives a kind of relief that the measures taken by the government have been able to give stability in the financial field but it was expensive," she said after a meeting with the House Budget Committee here on Monday.

She made the statement in response to a statement from bankers that the government's decision to take over the Bank Century in the midst of global financial crisis in 2008 was correct.

"That is what the banking sector has said that until now stability and conditions are maintained and certainly what they said provides a kind of relief that what the government has decided helped provide a good situation and financial stability," she said.

She said if indeed bankers considered the bailout decision correct the government hoped they would work optimally and maximally to support the national economy.

"We hope they can be maximal in carrying out their functions such as extending credits and maintaining their operations cost and good corporate governance so that no problem will arise again," she said.