GH Bank sets new loan growth target board sets policy to help drive economy
The GOVERNMENT Housing Bank has set an ambitious newloangrowth target for 2017 of 6 per cent, double the initial goal of 3 per cent, as its board of directors wants the bank to drive economic growth.
“The board wants the bank to help the realestate sector. The board believes we can do it,” Chatchai Sirilai, president GH Bank, said yesterday.
Based on the assumption that gross domestic product grows by 33.5 per cent next year, GH Bank should have new loan growth of 6 per cent. This would help enhance economic growth for 2017.
To achieve 6 percent growth, GH Bank must extend Bt180 billion in new loans, while new loan bookings for this year are projected at Bt170 billion.
However, new loan bookings as of November had only reached Bt148 billion.
Even though the bank has to grow more next year, it will try to lower nonperforming loans (NPLs), Chatchai said. One way is to sell off bad debt.
In 2017, the bank plans to dispose of Bt14 billion of bad debt, but the actual figure might be Bt8 billion, which would be 0.8 per cent of NPLs.
The bank expects to sell those bad debts in the third quarter of next year.
Under the fouryear business plan, GH Bank must keep NPLs at 4 per cent.
The bank is waiting for regulations from the Bank of Thailand on reverse mortgages, which are a policy objecฌtive of the Finance Ministry.
The criteria for reverse mortgages should be clear on what kind of housฌing could be eligible, what percentage of loan to value is proper and whether the mortgaged houses should have property insurance.
The GH Bank Act needs to be amended to comply with reverse mortฌgages, but the bank has set aside a credฌit line of Bt10 billion for the scheme, Chatchai said.
