450,000 borrowers turn to govt debt-relief scheme for help
More than 450,000 people have applied for a government debt relief scheme to help pull them out of the abyss of liabilities worth more than 100 billion baht.
Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said on Friday that most of these debts stemmed from credit card spending, personal loans and home mortgages, among others.
He said this debt-relief scheme was started last year as part of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s policy.
Arkhom said the objective of the scheme is to “improve the debt structure” by refinancing or reducing the repayment set-up, not forgiving the debt.
He added that about half of the debts are in the “debt relief” process, with relevant financial institutions helping to ease the burden on those participating in the scheme.
The minister went on to say that the Finance Ministry has also given lessons on personal finance and financial discipline to those overburdened by home loans.
As part of the programme, the Government Housing Bank is hosting the fourth “debt relief fair” in Chonburi province. The three-day fair wraps up on Sunday.
For the first time, five commercial banks have also been included in the debt-relief scheme.
