CIMB to Optimize through Digital Lounges

PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk is pursuing efficiency through digital branches. The bank’s latest move was converting its conventional office in Kemang, Jakarta, to a digital office. The management hoped the conversion would boost the performance more than twofold. The consumer director of CIMB Niaga, Lani Darmawan, revealed that the digital-based office or Digital Lounge had given positive impacts. By September 2019, CIMB Niaga had already owned 30 units of Digital Lounge, five units shy of this year’s target.

By delegating only 2-3 employees for operating the office, CIMB’s intention to be more efficient is quite successful. The bank can push down the operational expenses significantly by no longer using any paper. This kind of office will help the bank to reduce the cost to income ratio (CIR) to below 40 percent. In the first half of 2019, the bank’s CIR was at 49.40 percent. On Thursday, (9/26) Bisnis.com reported that the digital branches could cut more than 35 percent of the operational expenses in the future.