At his swearing in ceremony, Nasution said that although inflation and Indonesia's external position are generally benign, private banks do not seem to have done enough to boost the economy.

In their defence, the banks have said their loan rates reflect the need to protect themselves against loan risks which have risen as a result of the economic slowdown.

Separately, Nasution has emerged as one of two central bank insiders (along with Hartadi Sarwono, a deputy governor for monetary affairs) who