Thailand third in bank account ownership
Thailand has the third-highest levels of bank-account ownership for adults among Southeast Asian countries after Singapore and Malaysia.
According to the World Bank’s "Global Findex 2014", 78 per cent of the Thai population aged over 15 years have bank accounts, an improvement from 73 per cent in the 2011 index.
At the bottom was Cambodia, at 22 per cent, though this increased sharply from 4 per cent in 2011.
Cambodia’s ratio was lower than that of Myanmar, 23 per cent. Myanmar’s ratio in 2011 was not available.
There were no data on Brunei, one of the 10 Asean member states.
Global Findex is a comprehensive report on financial inclusion released by the World Bank every three years. It measures how individuals in 143 countries save, borrow, make payments, and manage risks.
The report showed that the global bank-account rate was 62 per cent in 2014.
Malaysia showed an impressive improvement as the ratio rose from 66 per cent in 2011.
Dr Jose de Luna Martinez, World Bank Group senior financial economist, told a media briefing yesterday that Malaysia was a success story in terms of its financial system’s development plan and carving out a niche as a specialist in Islamic banking.
"A major contributor to Malaysia’s development success is its innovative, resilient, and inclusive financial sector," he added.
From 2011 to 2014, account ownership for adults from the poorest 40 per cent of households in Malaysia increased to 76 per cent from 50 per cent.
