BBL announces additional measures
Bangkok Bank has issued additional measures to provide relief to customers from flood damage by cutting home loan monthly payments by up to 40 per cent for a year and by reducing credit card interest rates by 50 per cent through to June 2012.
The bank has also waived fees for customers making funds transfers to their families in flooded areas. Flood-affected customers can contact any Bangkok Bank branch nationwide before December 30.
Bangkok Bank Senior Executive Vice President Suvarn Thansathit said Bangkok Bank has issued additional loan payment measures to help its retail customers affected by devastating floods. For credit card customers, minimum monthly payments have been reduced to 0-10 per cent of the outstanding balance and interest rates have been cut by 50 per cent until June 2012. If customers are still in trouble after the measures expire, the bank will be happy to extend the discounted rates for another 6 months, to December 2012.
Bualuang Home Loan customers can choose to either pay interest-only for up to 12 months or to reduce their monthly installments by up to 40 per cent for 12 months. This measure is in addition to previously announced extra loans for home repairs. The new loans carry interest rates of 5 percent for the first year and MRR for subsequent years, with repayment periods of up to five years.
Bangkok Bank has also waived its Inter Region fee to customers making funds transfers to their families in flooded areas. The areas must be listed in the official announcements. To be eligible for the fee waiver, customers need to write ‘for family in flooded area’ on a deposit form and make the transfer over the counter.
Credit card customers can also contact the Credit Card Division at tel. 0-2638-4000. More information can be obtained by contacting Bualuang Phone tel. 1333.
“Previous Bangkok Bank measures to help customers in flood areas include a special loan program with total capital of Bt5 billion to help SME customers,” added Suvarn. “The loan term is for up to a year for short-term loans and 5 years for long-term loans. Each affected SME customer can take out a loan of up to Bt20 million with an interest rate of 5 per cent in the first year, and MLR from the second year onwards. The special loan program is available from now until December 30, 2011. The bank will consider and approve loan applications as it deems appropriate on a case-by-case basis.
“For large corporate customers, we are providing assistance by considering relaxing repayment conditions, reducing interest rates or restructuring existing loans, and by providing emergency loans to alleviate any liquidity crunch,” said Suvarn.
