Indonesia: The shock resignation of BI Governor Perry Warjiyo

Research evidence excerpt

Indonesia: The shock resignation of BI Governor Perry Warjiyo

ry, which could result in speculation that the

government may have played a role, and it comes at a time when concerns over central

bank independence are elevated, following the recent passage by parliament of revisions

to the law of the financial sector (see FirstInsights-Indonesia:Thoughtsonthefinancial

sectorlawrevisionspassedbyparliament, 4 June 2026). When former Finance Minister

Sri Mulyani was replaced in September 2025, Secretary Hadi unveiled the news of a

cabinet reshuffle just before President Prabowo announced that Sri Mulyani Indrawati

would be replaced by Purbaya Sadewa (see FirstInsights-Indonesia: Finance Minister

Sri Mulyani Indrawati replaced, 8 September 2025). Over the weekend, we did not see

any developments or news that may have led to this resignation.

However, we cannot rule out the possibility that Acting Governor Destry Damayanti will

only helm BI temporarily and that an external appointment will be made later. She

mentioned herself at the press announcement that, under the law, the president will need

to nominate a replacement and the parliament will have to approve the appointment.

Acting Governor Destry Damayanti is a market economist and has served as a senior

deputy governor over the last eight years, which may provide investors with some short-

term comfort about monetary policy continuity. Previously, from 2011 to 2015, she was a

chief economist at Bank Mandiri, the largest state-owned bank. She was also on the

Board of Commissioners of the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS) from 2015 to 2019.

Overall, we think Warjiyo’s resignation significantly adds to investor concerns about policy

uncertainty, which could weigh further on already-fragile sentiment. A new replacement