JAKARTA – BTN Syariah, the Sharia Business Unit (Unit Usaha Syariah/UUS) under PT Bank Tabungan Negara (Persero) Tbk (BTN), is set to enter a new era as a Sharia Commercial Bank (Bank Umum Syariah/BUS) in 2025, exactly 20 years after its establishment. Over the past two decades, BTN Syariah has played an important role in the growth of its parent company and contributed to the national housing sector by expanding access to Sharia-based home financing for the public.
BTN President Director Nixon LP Napitupulu said that BTN Syariah, which officially turns 20 years old on February 14, 2025, has become a major player in Indonesia’s property sector by controlling 28% of the national market share of Sharia-based housing financing as of October 2024. Meanwhile, in the Sharia subsidized housing financing market, BTN Syariah holds 90% market share. BTN Syariah has also demonstrated its potential to become a strong competitor in Indonesia’s Islamic banking industry.
For 20 years, BTN Syariah has been one of BTN’s key growth engines, focusing on serving communities that require home financing based on Islamic Sharia principles. Each year, BTN Syariah has recorded rapid business growth and has now reached a mature stage, ready to take the next step to serve more people in need of decent and affordable housing.
“It is time for BTN Syariah to go to the next level by becoming a Sharia commercial bank,” said Nixon during the 20th anniversary celebration of BTN Syariah in Jakarta, Friday (2/14).
Over the past 20 years, BTN Syariah has achieved double-digit growth, as seen from its compound annual growth rate (CAGR), in line with the increasing demand for decent and affordable housing in Indonesia. In 2009, BTN Syariah’s total assets stood at only Rp2.25 trillion, but by the end of 2024 the figure had reached Rp61 trillion, representing an average annual growth of 22.83%.
Meanwhile, BTN Syariah financing amounted to Rp1.99 trillion in 2009 and grew to Rp44 trillion in 2024, with an average annual growth rate of 21.31%. Third-party funds (DPK) reached Rp50 trillion by the end of 2024, with an average annual growth of 24.72% since 2009, when DPK stood at Rp1.44 trillion.
Nixon stated that BTN Syariah has also maintained strong profitability, consistently recording profits every year since 2009. By the end of 2024, BTN Syariah’s net profit reached Rp911.42 billion, growing at an average annual rate of 23.35%, compared to Rp31.72 billion in 2009.
“Over two decades, BTN Syariah has recorded stable business growth year after year, supported by healthy financial ratios and strong prudential principles. This can be seen from the non-performing financing (NPF) ratio, which has been maintained below 3%, recorded at 2.87% at the end of 2024,” Nixon said.
BTN Syariah reached a major milestone in 2010, when it first distributed subsidized Sharia mortgage financing (KPR Subsidi iB) under the product name KPR Sejahtera BTN iB. Five years later, in 2015, BTN Syariah introduced the KPR Subsidi Selisih Margin BTN iB product to meet demand for subsidized Sharia mortgages, followed by KPR Bantuan Pembiayaan Perumahan Berbasis Tabungan (BP2BT) BTN iB in 2019.
BTN Director of Consumer Banking Hirwandi Gafar stated that BTN Syariah continues to strengthen its position as the government’s trusted partner for public housing by offering Tapera financing products in 2022, including Tapera Home Ownership Financing BTN iB, Tapera Home Construction Financing BTN iB, and Tapera Home Renovation Financing BTN iB.
BTN Syariah’s continued innovation and consistent contribution to national housing financing has also earned recognition. In 2024, BTN Syariah received awards from the Public Housing Savings Management Agency (BP Tapera), including second place in the category of FLPP Distribution Bank with the Highest Distribution Contribution in 2024. In the same year, the Indonesian Hajj Fund Management Agency (BPKH) awarded BTN Syariah the BPKH Annual Meeting and Banking Award 2024.
Beyond national recognition, BTN Syariah also gained international acknowledgment by receiving the Banking Service Excellence 2024 award in several categories, including best branch office and ATM experience, as well as being named Indonesia Best Domestic Islamic Bank at the Euromoney Islamic Finance Award 2024.
“These milestones and awards prove that BTN Syariah has become an important and inseparable part of the development of the Islamic banking industry and the national housing sector. This achievement will continue in the coming years when BTN Syariah has become a Sharia commercial bank,” said Hirwandi.
Hirwandi added that BTN Syariah has transformed alongside its parent company over the last 20 years to strengthen its capacity in supporting national housing. During the previous administration under President Joko Widodo, BTN Syariah became an accelerator for the One Million Houses Program to reduce the housing backlog by providing Sharia housing financing through Musyarakah Mutanaqisah, Murabahah, and Istishna contracts, enabling people to own their dream homes with installment certainty.
The expertise and experience of BTN Syariah and its parent company in supporting that program is now being continued through the Three Million Houses Program per year under President Prabowo Subianto’s administration, as a commitment to support economic growth through the housing sector and improve public welfare. Nixon added that this expertise is also supported by BTN Syariah’s extensive infrastructure and branch network. As of the end of 2024, BTN Syariah operated 110 branch offices and sub-branch offices across Indonesia.
To strengthen funding, BTN Syariah and its parent company have also carried out mortgage asset securitization and issued long-term sukuk under BTN Tapera.
“In line with BTN’s digital transformation to provide a one-stop housing financial solution, BTN Syariah is also involved in developing the Sharia digital mortgage ecosystem through online mortgage applications via the BTN Properti portal application. We have also prepared a BTN Syariah Mobile Banking Super App that will be launched this year,” said Hirwandi.
Spin-Off: BTN Syariah Enters a New Chapter
BTN Syariah’s achievements over two decades further strengthen its foundation to enter a new phase as a Sharia commercial bank through a strategic spin-off initiative planned to be completed before the end of 2025. Hirwandi stated that the status change into a Sharia commercial bank will help BTN Syariah expand its business capacity, offering more focused products and services not only in the housing sector, but also expanding into the halal ecosystem.
“For example, gold financing, Umrah and Hajj Plus financing, corporate and MSME financing, and expanding the priority customer segment. We believe that by becoming a Sharia commercial bank, BTN Syariah can improve the quality of Sharia financial services for the public,” Hirwandi said.
On the funding side, BTN Syariah will strengthen engagement with Muslim communities to gather third-party funds and low-cost funds (CASA). With increased low-cost DPK, BTN Syariah will have stronger resources to expand financing at a more competitive margin rate.
“BTN Syariah continues to educate the public to improve literacy regarding Sharia financial services through the halal ecosystem and continues to innovate, including in digitalization and business process improvement, so that more Indonesians can enjoy decent and affordable homeownership,” Hirwandi concluded.
