PM Srettha vows to eradicate 16tn baht NPLs within his tenure

In a press conference at Government House on Tuesday, Srettha said that NPLs constituted 90% of the GDP, requiring urgent and comprehensive measures. However, he appeared upbeat this his government would effectively be able to wipe out the NPLs within its four-year tenure.

Present at the conference were Deputy Finance Ministers Julapun Amornvivat and Krisada Chinavicharana, as well as senior officials from other relevant government agencies.

Also attending were key figures from the Finance, Education and Agriculture ministries, the central bank governor and heads of the Government Savings Bank and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives.

Kittiratt Na-Ranong, an advisor to the prime minister, told the press that the government has compiled data on NPLs in financial institutions, revealing a staggering 16 trillion baht or 90% of GDP in bad debt.

Approximately 5 million debtors had defaulted on 12 million loan accounts with banks, finance

finance firms, cooperatives and the Student Loan Fund.

Kittiratt added that around one million out of 23 million credit card holders in Thailand had defaulted on their debt.

Srettha, meanwhile, highlighted his government’s commitment to tackling both debts with loan sharks and NPLs with financial institutions as a national agenda.

He said many borrowers had defaulted on their debt for too long and were deprived of an opportunity to carry out their business, and make a living due to growing debt.

As a result, Srettha said, he has instructed relevant agencies to collaborate across sectors to resolve all NPLs within the government’s four-year term. He added that this would help fix the country’s economic mechanism and promote growth.

He added that his government would not let people with NPLs suffer alone, but would help them, so they can become an economic driving force again.

Srettha categorised NPL debtors into four groups, namely:

• Those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic

• Those with regular income but a debt that is beyond their capacity to repay

• Those without regular income and unable to make regular payments

• Those who have defaulted for far too long, and accumulated a huge burden

“All these groups share one similarity. They are unable to service their debt and have defaulted. Defaulting has resulted in them being slapped with penalties, adding to their bad debt. So, they end up being blacklisted by the Credit Bureau and become unable to obtain more loans,” Srettha said.

Pornchai Theeravet, director general of the Fiscal Policy Office, told the press that the Finance Ministry will expedite the preparation of packages to aid debtors in the four groups. He said the packages will be sent for Cabinet approval soon.