Banks tighten loan conditions as virus crisis deepens

Kiatnakin Bank said it is focusing more on customers’ capacity to make repayments, and was getting stricter in issuing all kinds of loans, particularly small ones.
The bank’s president Philip Chen Chong Tan said down payment for a car loan had been increased from 5 per cent to 10 per cent, adding that stricter screening of customers’ information and income was in place.
Kiatnakin Bank has also cut availability of loans for freelancers, though issuing criteria remain the same for salaried workers.
Likewise, the Bank of Ayudhya (BAY) is being more careful in issuing loans to both old and new customers. Old customers faced new limits on extending their credit line while new customers would find it harder to obtain loans, said Thakorn Piyapan, head of Krungsri Consumer.
Krungsri Consumer is also considering raising the salary threshold for loan applicants to Bt20,000 per month. Currently, customers need to earn at least Bt12,00 per month to obtain a personal loan and Bt15,000 to receive a credit card.
However, due to numerous conditions it would not be easy to change the criteria, he said.
At Siam Commercial Bank, president Apiphan Charoenanusorn said it had become more cautious about issuing loans to customers without collateral.
She added that fewer applicants were managing to obtain loans, since their incomes had dropped amid the crisis while the bank’s criteria remained unchanged.