Thai Bankers´s Assocation, FTI and Chamber of Commerce band together to aid SMEs

BANGKOK, 17 August 2009 (NNT) – The Thai Bankers’ Association has combined efforts with the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) and the Thai Chamber of Commerce to aid small and medium enterprise members of each organization impacted by the economic decline.

Krung Thai Bank Board Manager and President of the Thai Bankers’ Association Apisak Tantiworawong said the association had joined with the FTI and Chamber of Commerce to help embattled SMEs by providing consultation, debt restructuring, and capital sources. He noted that many were showing recovery signs with loan requests increasing and orders steadily moving upwards.

Krung Thai Bank itself however has not changed its approach to loan approval for SMEs using a credit scoring index for smaller businesses. The bank admitted to seeing a rise in non-performing loans but assured that it ha? been successful in addressing the problems and had no concerns over the issue. Krung Thai’s sentiments were echoed by Kasikorn Thai Bank which has also not made any changes to its loan approval system, noting that the economy has shown clear signs of recovery.