BBL banks on growth in upcountry mortgages

“The bank sees high demand for home loans upcountry, which presents an opportunity for the bank to expand its loans,” executive vice president Thaweelarp Rittapirom said last week.
Mortgage loans in the provinces would surge in importance in the near future, he said.
The bank found that many manufacturers have decided to invest upcountry, especially in the Northeast, which has spurred employment and fuelled the building of residences. Developers are also cashing in on the change in the lifestyles of provincial people who are preferring to live in residential projects.
The spread of urbanisation has supported more commuter transport services such as low-cost airlines and the government is planning to open cross-country high-speed train routes.
Bangkok Bank’s share of the Bt1.9-trillion mortgage market is only 12 per cent, even though it has the most assets among commercial banks. Its new home loans in the first four months of this year grew slowly, as home-buyers were reluctant to transfer their properties pending flood-relief measures from the government. Many residential projects are located in flood-affected areas. The soft mortgage-loan scheme launched last month by the government via state-run banks should help drive mortgage loans in the rest of the year.
The bank set its target for home-loan growth at more than 15 per cent this year. Last year, growth was only 8 per cent, short of the target of more than 10 per cent, due mainly to the impact of the deluge on the economy.
The marketing strategy for this year is to promote mortgages to its payroll account customers. It will also offer credit lines with special rates for home-loan refinancing.