There has been interest from fintech P2P lenders to acquire banks, as part of their efforts to increase share of MSME lending in Indonesia. Most recently, P2P fintech, Amarta, was reportedly in talks to acquire Bank Victoria Syariah by taking 70% share ownership. Previously, Modalku, owned by Funding Societies, acquired a significant stake in PT Bank Index Selindo. In addition, ALAMI also acquired one of the Islamic banks, Hijra Bank, that enables both lenders and borrowers to deposit savings, and for Hijra Bank to be an intuitional lender for Alami. According to Mr. Kus, Executive Director of AFPI (Indonesian Fintech Association), this development is driven by fintech lenders’ desire to address the regulation limitations on IDR 2 billion (US$ 140k) cap per loan, by acquiring multi finance institutions and banks.
