The establishment of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) (Indonesian: Badan Penyehatan Perbankan Nasional, BPPN), lit. "National Banking Revitalization Agency") in early 1998 was one of a series of steps taken by the Indonesian government, in agreement with the International Monetary Fund on 15 January 1998, in response to the banking and economic crisis which emerged following the onset of the Asian monetary crisis in mid-1997.[1] Among other things, the drastic depreciation of the rupiah (Rp) reduced bank liquidity, and loss of public confidence in the rupiah and the banking system in general.
In establishing IBRA, the Indonesian authorities were effectively establishing a "bad bank" financial vehicle to allow the segregation of bad debts away from established banks with the aim of promoting the overall recovery of Indonesia's financial system.[2]
As a measure to cope with the scarcity of liquidity in the nation's banking system, in late 1997 and early 1998 the central bank (Bank Indonesia), as a lender of the last resort, provided liquidity assistance loans to banks. In addition, the Government instituted a blanket guarantee program for all bank liabilities, to arrest further erosion of confidence towards the system. This process left the Indonesian banking system holding a large number of bad loans at the end of 1997.