The Phuket News Novosti Phuket Khao Phuket

Login | Create Account | Search


BOT starts offering soft loans totaling B24.2bn

BOT starts offering soft loans totaling B24.2bn

BANGKOK: The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has accepted requests from financial institutions to offer soft loans to SMEs to improve fluidity and preserve jobs. Eight commercial banks on Monday (Apr 27) filed requests to offer a total of B2.42 billion in loans, to some 17,000 clients.

COVID-19Coronaviruseconomics
By National News Bureau of Thailand

Wednesday 29 April 2020 10:27 AM


Bank of Thailand’s Deputy Governor on Financial Institutions Stability, Ronadol Numnonda. Photo: NNT

Bank of Thailand’s Deputy Governor on Financial Institutions Stability, Ronadol Numnonda. Photo: NNT

Bank of Thailand’s Deputy Governor on Financial Institutions Stability, Ronadol Numnonda said yesterday that banks that have filed for the highest amount in soft loans are Bangkok Bank (BBL), Krungthai Bank (KTB), and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC).

Soft loans sourced by the BOT will be distributed mostly to individual SMEs, the credit lines of which don’t exceed B20 million, accounting for 76% of all clients.

Some 80% of these businesses are located outside Bangkok, while almost half of them are wholesalers and retailers.

Financial institutions have previously offered assistance packages to some 11mn clients, with total credit of B3.7 trillion, most of which was for house mortgages, credit cards, and personal loans.

The Bank of Thailand has set a limit of B500bn in soft loans to help those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, to be offered through financial institutions.