Srettha denies reports of bank run, says BAAC to fund digital wallet
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Friday rejected as “untrue” reports that customers of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) had been withdrawing their money.
The state-run bank has garnered public attention after the government on Wednesday announced that it would be using 172.3 billion baht from the BAAC to fund its digital wallet scheme.
Under the scheme, all Thais above the age of 16 years with a monthly income of less than 70,000 baht and bank deposits lower than 500,000 baht will receive 10,000 baht via a digital wallet to spend at local businesses.
The scheme is expected to cost around 500 billion baht but is expected to provide a 1.2-1.6 per cent boost to the country’s GDP.
“The BAAC has confirmed that their financial status is ready [to support the scheme], and the move is fully legal,” said Srettha.
He added that the Council of State would check the use of money from the bank to fund the digital wallet scheme to ensure that every step is transparent and in compliance with the laws.
“This procedure will also apply to all sources of funding, not just that from BAAC,” said the premier.
On Thursday night, the BAAC issued a statement, saying that the bank is a specialised financial institution of the state with the objective of providing financial assistance to farmers, farmer groups, or agricultural cooperatives under the framework of the BAAC Act.
“The BAAC has been involved in various government projects in the past, by providing loans to participants and funding the project operations,” said the statement. “The BAAC continues to maintain its liquidity and financial stability in accordance with financial institution standards.”
The bank went on to say that the digital wallet scheme is another government project under which farmers are among the beneficiaries. It added that the bank was coordinating with related agencies regarding the details of the operation to ensure legal compliance and proper risk management.
