SCB doubles aid package for SMEs
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Siam Commercial Bank has doubled its financial-assistance package for flood-hit SME and retail customers to Bt20 billion.
“The emergency credit line launched earlier is likely not enough to help customers,” SCB president Kannikar Chalitaporn said yesterday.
Executive chairman Vichit Suraphongchai said the impact from the flooding was more serious than expected.
Smaller businesses like retailers and SMEs are the customers with the most pressing need to quickly get back on their feet, he said.
Larger companies can rapidly resume business because they have insurance coverage for both flood damage and business interruption. Those in swamped industrial estates are foreign companies and their countries stood ready to help them.
All the banks in the Thai Bankers’ Association have agreed to take care of their customers, but the customers are different. Each bank has its own solutions to help its customers.
Supply-chain businesses, especially auto-parts makers are in bad shape, but they will be the next focus of the bank’s attention.
SCB today wants to immediately help the directly affected SME and retail customers.
“It’s not easy to forecast the economy next year because the situation is changing every day,” he said.
Kannikar said SMEs do not have as much liquidity as larger companies, so SCB will offer them a three-year loan with the interest rate set at 5 per cent in the first year and the minimum lending rate minus one percentage point in the second and final years.
The bank provides a grace period for principal repayment and a six-month grace period for interest payment, extendable by six months on a case-by-case basis.
The bank is cutting interest instalments by 50 per cent for three months and allowing an increase of up to 20 per cent in overdrafts.
Home-loan customers can increase their loan up to 120 per cent of appraised value and forego interest payments for three months.
Their principal repayment can be suspended by a maximum of six months and interest payment reduced by 50 per cent for three months.
Credit card and personal-loan customers can suspend debt payments and reduce interest payments by 50 per cent for three months.
Auto-loan customers can suspend debt instalments for three months.
