BOT penalises Srisawad Finance for overcharging fee
Srisawad Finance Pcl has been fined Bt3.155 million by the Bank of Thailand (BOT) for violation of the central bank's regulations on loan granting fee.
The BOT issued its order on May 20, saying the company had overcharged collateral evaluation fee by changing it according to the loan amount. This was in violation of the BOT’s regulations on market conduct and fee for loan providers, as well as a violation of Sections 46 and 125 of Financial Institutions Businesses Act BE 2551. The act stipulates that violators of either section shall be fined a maximum of Bt500,000 plus an additional Bt5,000 per day until the error is rectified.
Srisawad Finance had previously been fined Bt1.655 million in a similar case by the BOT back in August 2019 for charging interest higher than the maximum limit allowed by the BOT. Upon paying the fine, the company had reimbursed clients who had been overcharged except some clients it said it could not reach out to.
Srisawad Finance is majority owned (82.4 per cent) by Srisawad Corporation Pcl, whose major shareholder is Thida Kaewbootta. The Kaewbootta family is among Thailand’s 20 richest families who had been approached by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha asking for cooperation to help the country overcome the Covid-19 crisis.