SLF goes all out to recover overdue debt

IN 2018, the Student Loan Fund (SLF) will start including its debtors’ accounts in the Credit Bureau to keep the financial status of its borrowers updated and to identify any problems that could affect their ability to repay their student loans, said the SLF manager.

Thitima Wichairat urged all |current overdue debtors to cooperate with SLF’s efforts to solve the |problems.

This year, the fund has earned Bt2.6 billion from normal repayments, as well as SLF’s efforts to |press for debt repayments and |seizure of debtors’ assets, Thitima said. 

The agency implemented vari-|ous measures to press for debt re-payments, including sending out notification letters, dunning letters and hiring a debt-collecting com-pany to legally handle debtors in a |bid to prevent debtors’ lawsuits, she said. 

However, many people still have outstanding debts with the fund, hence the need to employ addi-|tional measures, such as request-|ing that organisations and com-panies deduct the salaries of SLF debtors in their employ and divert the funds to repay money owed, she added. 

Thitima said 2.1 million more debtors repaid the fund thanks to various campaigns for debt repayment, especially the hiring of a debt collecting company that led to the repayment of Bt800 million. 

 

‘3.1 million must start repaying’

In the past 19 years, the SLF has lent money for education to 4.5 million people, 3.1 million of whom must start repaying their debt because their two-year grace period is up. 

Of those 3.1 million debtors, 2.1 million repaid the debts inconsistently, 120,000 went into the debt-settlement process and 800,000 faced prosecution for failing to pay the debts. 

Thitima insisted that the seizing of assets was a consequential step by law, not the SLF’s new policy, and it was the last resort after all other debt-settling attempts fail.

“Debtors who fail to repay for four consecutive years will see their loan contracts revoked and they must pay the remaining debts or face lawsuits. When the court rules that you have to repay but you have no money, the next step will be the legal process and, eventually, asset seizure, according to the steps in the civil code lawsuit process.”

She said the Legal Execution Department has already seized the assets of 800 debtors from the 2004 academic year and is now preparing 

 to seize the assets of 4,000 other overdue debtors.

For fiscal 2016, the SLF has set a goal to lend Bt30 billion to students, of which Bt13 billion would come from the government coffers and Bt17 billion from the SLF’s funds, she said. 

The agency is also deter-mined to proceed with pressing for debt repayments and asset seizures. It will also strive to |continue its good understanding with organisations and companies to, hopefully, get their cooperation to sign memoranda of understanding to deduct the salaries of SLF debtors in their employ. 

So far, Naresuan University and Bathroom Design Co are on board with ongoing initiatives and the Education Ministry is poised to join with other companies also showing an interest, she added. 

The SLF has about 750,000 borrowers in the 2015 academic year, of whom 200,000 were new debtors. The number of newcomers was lower than the previous year because the agency has limited the number of borrowers to 200,000 per year, Thitima explained. 

The lower birth rate, leading |to lower number of students |in schools is also a factor, she added.