New measures aimed at tackling debts to be announced Dec 11

The Finance Ministry, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) and financial institutions will jointly announce measures aimed at tackling debt problems next Wednesday (December 11).

These measures will focus on debts from housing and auto loans as well as business-related loans of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Lavaron Sangsnit, Finance Ministry’s Permanent Secretary said on Thursday.

Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira, BOT governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, and executives of financial institutions are expected to lead the press conference, which will be held at the Bank of Thailand in Bangkok, he said.

Lavaron said the new measures include a debt restructuring programme that targets both recent borrowers and those who entered the government’s debt programmes in the past three years.

Applicants can choose from various payment plans that will allow them to pay back the principal as soon as possible by suspending interest payments, he said.

“These measures will help fix the rising non-performing loans (NPLs) in the housing and auto markets, which have affected the automakers and property developers, as well as supply chain providers in related industries,” said Lavaron.

Earlier, deputy finance minister Paopoom Rojanasakul estimated that the campaign would help holders of 2.3 million accounts pay off their debts worth 1.31 trillion baht.

Eligible accounts must have become NPLs less than a year prior to October 31, 2024. This cut-off date is to prevent newer account holders deliberately defaulting on payments to join the campaign, he said.

Paopoom explained that the campaign will not be financed from the government budget, but will use the money available from allowing Thai banks to pay a reduced annual contribution to the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF), from the current 0.46% to 0.23% of deposits.

Financial institutes will also contribute part of the funding for the campaign, he added.