TBA, banks to meet on soft-loan scheme
THE THAI Bankers' Association (TBA) will on Monday meet with representatives of commercial banks to explain the conditions of the government-sponsored SME soft-loan programme, said Kobsak Duangdee, secretary-general of the association.
The Bt100-billion programme will provide small and medium-sized enterprises with loans charging an interest rate of just 4 per cent under certain criteria.
To ensure this scheme will be efficient, the TBA believes the banks should have a policy of supporting their SME clients. The association also wants to get feedback from each bank on possible barriers to the programme in order to solve such problems quickly, he said.
Sutharntip Phisitbuntoon, senior executive vice president of Land and Houses Bank, said the bank did not know yet whether this scheme will cover SMEs that intend to refinance or those whose loans are non-performing. The bank will seek clarification on this at the meeting on Monday.
“We are ready to support SMEs, especially existing clients that are facing a decline in revenue, as lower financing costs will help them to recover from this difficult situation,” she said.
She said the banks should use this scheme to help their existing SME clients rather than offering low-interest loans to new customers.
Once it gets a clear message from the meeting on Monday, LH Bank plans to offer soft loans to small and medium-sized hotel operators, Sutharntip said.
Hotels in Phuket province have witnessed a slowdown in revenue and profits because of a reduction in tourists from Europe and Russia, who are regarded as high-spending travellers. Chinese tourists tend to spend less than those from the European Union and Russia, dragging down the profitability of small and medium-sized hotels in Phuket, which affects their ability to make their debt repayments, she said.
Sutut Chitmonkongsuk, executive vice president of Thanachart Bank, said it had not set a target |for lending through the soft-|loan scheme because it wants to make sure of the conditions first. The bank will also select customers who have potential to run a business but might have problems with cash flows.
TBank expects its lending to SMEs to grow by 7-8 per cent this year, with construction and healthcare companies its main focus. Its current SME loan portfolio is Bt100 billion.
