State-run banks accelerate debt restructuring to prevent NPLs
State-run banks are speeding up the restructuring of debt for clients participating in the debt-moratorium schemes to reduce the chance of rising non-performing loans (NPLs) in their system.
Apirom Sukprasert, president for the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, said his bank has restructured debt for some borrowers, most of whom are farmers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Of the total borrowers in the debt-moratorium programme, 260,000 are SMEs in the agricultural sector with a total debt of Bt81 billion. Their debt suspension term was extended from the end of this month to the end of December.
The bank’s NPL is 4.03 per cent of its outstanding loan of Bt1.5 trillion.
Vithai Ratanakorn, president of Government Savings Bank (GSB), said the bank will restructure the debt of clients participating in the debt-moratorium scheme in the last quarter of the year now that the moratorium period has been extended to year end.
He added that some of these clients are still feeling the pinch from the Covid-19 outbreak and may become NPLs early next year. Hence, he said, the bank will call them in to discuss debt restructuring in the fourth quarter.
