31 Jan 2020
Financial Markets
The Baht weakened in line with other regional currencies amid concerns over the economic impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak. In addition, the Baht was weighed down by net foreign stock selling during the week, and domestic US dollar demand at the month-end. ... Read more
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24 Jan 2020
The Baht fell against the US dollar. The Baht rose early in the week along with regional currencies amid profit-taking on the US dollar’s gains fueled by strong US economic reports released before. However, the Baht reversed those gains and fell in line with Asian peers, led by the Yuan, on the back... Read more
22 Jan 2020
Financial Institutions
The reduction in home ownership transfer fee in early 2020 and the Bank of Thailand’s decision to relax its loan-to-value (LTV) regulations for first-and second-time home buyers on January 20, 2020, with the aim of promoting home ownership and increasing consumer house-buying power, will likely give... Read more
17 Jan 2020
Thailand’s household debt continued to surge amid the slowing economy as the size of the household debt relative to GDP rose to 79.1 percent in 3Q19, the highest in almost three years. The high level of household debt nationwide is consistent with KResearch’s survey on household debt and savings in ... Read more
10 Jan 2020
The Baht rebounded later in the week. The Baht moved within a tight range early in the week before hitting a 1-month low of THB30.37/USD in line with weak regional currencies amid concerns over rising tensions in the Middle East, as Iran attacked US troops in Iraq in response to US airstrike on Janu... Read more
3 Jan 2020
The Baht reversed gains and weakened against the US dollar in the first two trading days of the year, but it continued to be traded in a narrow range. The BOT signaled to closely monitor its movement after the Baht broke the THB30.00/USD level to hit a 6-1/2 year high of THB29.75/USD amid thin tradi... Read more
27 Dec 2019
The Baht rose to test THB30.15/USD amid the US dollar’s sell-offs on the back of weaker-than-expected US durable goods and new home sales data. However, the Baht’s weekly movement was tight due to thin trading volume before the year-end holidays. ... Read more
25 Dec 2019
According to the statements of assets and liability (C.B. 1.1) of 14 Thai commercial banks as of the end of November 2019, net loans increased only slightly despite the loan drawdown season. The marginal rise in net loans was due to the negative factors stemming from loan repayment by the business s... Read more
20 Dec 2019
The Baht rose to test the THB30.15/USD. The Baht strengthened on the back of strong regional currencies, led by the Yuan amid news reports that the US and China were close to finalize the first phase of a trade deal. The US dollar faced sell-offs after the Fed signaled that it would not raise its p... Read more
17 Dec 2019
We at KResearch expect that the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will likely keep its policy rate steady at 1.25 percent during the final meeting of 2019 slated for December 18, 2019 pending a domestic economic assessment going forward. ... Read more
13 Dec 2019
6 Dec 2019
The Baht weakened against the US dollar. The Baht faced sell-offs early in the week in line with falling safe-haven currencies and assets, triggered by stronger-than-expected Chinese PMI data. The Baht fell further later in the week to a 1-month low of THB30.38/USD, after the BOT signaled to closely... Read more
29 Nov 2019
The Baht traded in a narrow range almost all trading days of the week. The Baht fell early in the week after both the US and Chinese Presidents signaled a possible trade deal between the two countries. The US dollar also gained on stronger-than-expected 3Q-2019 GDP and October durable goods orders d... Read more
25 Nov 2019
Net loans in October 2019 decreased from the previous month by 87.7 billion Baht amid the pressure on loans at almost all banks, especially from debt repayment by the corporate sector, SME business operators and the government. Nonetheless, retail loans, namely, personal loan and other unsecured loa... Read more
22 Nov 2019
The Baht traded in a narrow range. The Baht fell early in the week on the back of positive developments for the first phase of the US-China trade deal. However, the Baht rebounded and traded in a tight range later in the week after the US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on importe... Read more
19 Nov 2019
Digital-only banking is a banking business in the modern age that can be categorized into two types based on business models, which aim at different groups of customers: First, digital-only banks which focus on servicing low to medium income earners who face certain limitations in accessing financi... Read more
15 Nov 2019
The Baht strengthened against the US dollar. Regarded as a safe-haven currency, the Baht rose in line with the JPY amid concerns about the US-China trade talks. The US President Donald Trump said earlier in the week that there was no agreement yet to roll back tariffs on imported goods from China, a... Read more
13 Nov 2019
As the Thai economy has shown signs of slowing, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to cut the policy rate for the second time this year to 1.25 percent per annum during its meeting on November 6, 2019. The central bank’s policy rate cut has been passed on to the interest rate reduction ... Read more
11 Nov 2019
When looking back at Thailand’s recent financial history, the search-for-yield behavior has always occurred regardless of how low or high the interest rate was at that given period. At any rate, during the slowing economy, which often comes with a low interest rate environment, people are more likel... Read more
8 Nov 2019
The Baht fell to THB30.43/USD, the weakest level in 3 weeks. The Baht faced hefty sell-offs after the BOT’s MPC decided to cut its policy rate to 1.25% and relaxed rules to facilitate capital outflows and lessen pressure on the Thai baht. Moreover, a weaker Baht was also in line with other safe-have... Read more
7 Nov 2019
On November 6, 2019, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) announced the “Relaxation of rules to facilitate capital outflows and lessen pressure on the Thai Baht”, while the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) resolved to cut its policy rate to 1.25 percent. Their concurrent actions have caused the Baht to weaken ... Read more
1 Nov 2019
Signs of a slowing economy in terms of exports, domestic spending and relatively low inflation reflect the vulnerabilities of the Thai economy, while the impact from the lackluster exports has begun seeping into the real economic sector. Although the government recently introduced a series of econom... Read more
The Baht traded in a narrow range near THB30.15/USD, which is the strongest level in over six years. The Baht briefly fell early in the week in line with a weaker JPY, which was seen as a safe-haven currency after the US and China signaled that they were close to finalize some parts of their trade d... Read more
25 Oct 2019
Net loans of commercial banks in September 2019 expanded within a limited range, due to lackluster signs of overall economic activity. Moreover, some big commercial banks have exercised a cautious approach in approving loans to ensure the quality of loans. Meanwhile, the growth of small and medium s... Read more
The Baht hit a new 6-year high. The Baht rose along with other regional currencies amid foreign investors’ net buying orders for Thai bonds early in the week. Meanwhile, the US dollar fell on weak US economic data, reinforcing expectations that the Fed would cut its benchmark rate further at the FOM... Read more
18 Oct 2019
The Baht rose to test the THB30.25/USD level last week. The Baht briefly fell early-to mid-week in line with other regional currencies amid concerns about the slower global growth outlook. However, the Baht rebounded later in the week on the back of the US dollar’s sell-offs due to weak US economic ... Read more
17 Oct 2019
Although 3Q19 earnings of Thai commercial banks show that the Thai commercial banking system overall has been able to maintain profitability from extraordinary items, cut expenses from setting aside reserves and undertake efficient cost management, KResearch has assessed that the sluggish Thai econo... Read more
16 Oct 2019
The continuously strengthening Thai Baht has caused worries among the export-related business sector and the domestic tourism industry. Since the beginning of 2019, the Thai Baht has risen 7.4 percent against the greenback and other key major and regional currencies. The Thai currency has surged in ... Read more
11 Oct 2019
The Baht weakened late last week after hitting an over 6-year high of THB30.25/USD. The Baht rose early in the week as a safe-haven currency amid concerns about conflicts between the US and China over their trade renegotiations, as well as between the EU and UK on the BREXIT issue. However, the Baht... Read more
9 Oct 2019
The Baht has appreciated to test THB30.30/USD, representing the strongest in more than six years and Asia’s best-performing currency. The Thai currency has strengthened by approximately 7.4 percent against the greenback, outpacing the Indonesian Rupiah and Philippine Peso, which have appreciated onl... Read more
4 Oct 2019
The Baht strengthened late last week. The Baht fell early to mid-week on weak regional currencies, and risky assets amid heightened trade war tension, concerns over BREXIT, and an economic slowdown in the US and Eurozone. The Baht also tumbled along with net foreign stock selling orders. The Baht, h... Read more
27 Sep 2019
The Baht fell to the weaker side of THB30.60/USD last week. The Baht weakened on the back of net foreign stock and bond selling orders during the week. Meanwhile, most Asian currencies were weighed down by uncertainties about the global economic outlook, and the UK’s BREXIT solution. The US dollar a... Read more
26 Sep 2019
Net loans of commercial banks (14 banks) in August 2019 increased only 3.84 percent YoY, the same growth as the rate registered in July 2019, which is the lowest rate in 21 months. Loan outstandings continue to slow in alignment with the overall economic sentiment. In particular, business loans are ... Read more
19 Sep 2019
We at KResearch expect that the Bank of Thailand (BOT)’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will likely maintain its policy rate at 1.50 percent during the sixth meeting of 2019 slated for September 25, 2019. The fact that 3Q19 economic indicators did not deteriorate from those seen in 2Q19 may give th... Read more
13 Sep 2019
The Baht hit a 6-year high of THB30.36/USD in line with movements of the Yuan and other regional currencies amid positive signals of the US-China trade conflicts. The US delayed to raise tariffs on USD250 billion of Chinese imports until October 15 from October 1, while China announced lists of the ... Read more
10 Sep 2019
Life insurance premiums received in 1H19 totaled THB295 billion, contracting 6.1 percent YoY. In 2H19, the business is likely to slightly rebound, but the mild recovery is not enough to push the overall business performance for the whole of 2019 back to positive territory. Total life insurance pre... Read more
6 Sep 2019
The Baht was volatile last week. The Baht fell early in the week, along with the Yuan and other regional currencies, amid concerns about the US-China trade dispute. The Baht rebounded later, while the US dollar faced sell-offs after the ISM Manufacturing Index showed a contraction in the US manufact... Read more
30 Aug 2019
The Baht hit an almost 2-month high of THB30.55/USD last week. The Baht rose earlier in the week along with other safe-haven assets after the US and China announced to raise tariffs on each other’s goods, heightening tension over the trade war tension. The Baht fell briefly during the week on US do... Read more
23 Aug 2019
The Baht rose against the US dollar. The Baht rose early to mid week, along with other regional currencies while the US dollar faced sell-offs on concerns about the US economic outlook and falling US Treasury bond yields. The Baht extended gains against the US dollar, although foreign investors were... Read more
16 Aug 2019
New reports over the past one month may represent signals confirming that the Bank of Thailand (BOT) is in the process of carrying out two important matters to cope with hefty household debt. These include: 1) determining lending guidelines for low-income earners; and 2) preparation to set common le... Read more
The Baht weakened against the US dollar. The Baht fell along with regional currencies, while the US dollar rose after the US announced to delay imposing tariff on some Chinese imports to December 15. The Baht’s weakness was also in line with net foreign stock and bond selling orders, following sell... Read more
15 Aug 2019
Within one week after the Bank of Thailand announced a policy rate cut, major Thai commercial banks have followed suit by cutting lending rates for their general customers. These banks have slashed their minimum overdraft rate (MOR) and minimum retail rate (MRR) by 12.5-25 basis points, but are keep... Read more
9 Aug 2019
The Baht briefly fell after the FOMC meeting. The Baht rose early in the week, as the US dollar fell further on weak US Non-farm Payrolls data and concerns over the US-China trade tensions. The Baht extended its gains later in the week, although it fell briefly after the BOT’s MPC unexpectedly cut i... Read more
7 Aug 2019
Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 5-2 to cut the benchmark rate for the first time in four years to 1.50 percent, from 1.75 percent, at its meeting, August 7, 2019. The MPC attributed its move to the weakening signs seen in the export sector and domestic demand, which have caused the ... Read more
5 Aug 2019
KResearch projects that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will keep its policy rate steady at 1.75 percent at the fifth meeting of 2019 slated for August 7, 2019. It is expected that the MPC will attach importance to long-term stability at the upcoming meeting as it is experiencing more challenges... Read more
26 Jul 2019
The Baht weakened against the US dollar. The Baht fell early to mid week amid expectations that the Fed might not aggressively cut its policy rate in the near future. The Baht’s weakness was also in line with net foreign bond selling orders. Meanwhile, the US dollar rose on the budget deal between t... Read more
25 Jul 2019
Commercial loans and many types of retail loans grew at a slow pace while SME loans did not recovered in June. This caused June net loans overall to increase only THB10.7 billion or 0.09 percent MoM. When compared to the same period of last year, June net loans expanded at the sluggish pace in almos... Read more
19 Jul 2019
The Baht rebounded later in the week. The Baht weakened early to mid week, along with net foreign bond selling orders. The Baht later reversed those losses and rebounded amid the weak US dollar sentiment, led by disappointing US economic data, and NY Fed President’s remarks that reinforced expectati... Read more
18 Jul 2019
We at KResearch project that net profit overall of commercial banks registered in Thailand will reach approximately THB51-52 billion in 2Q19, declining from the THB52.59 billion reported for 1Q19. Operating profit in 2Q10 may recover at a slower pace because income growth from core business of comme... Read more
15 Jul 2019
The Bank of Thailand (BOT), on July 12, 2019, issued the measures to enhance short-term capital flow surveillance under the measures to prevent Thai Baht speculation formally announced after the central bank had earlier sent signal and expressed concerns over the rapid gains of Thai Baht which had s... Read more
12 Jul 2019
The Baht fluctuated and fell later in the week after the release of BOT’s new Baht measure. The Baht fell early in the week on the US dollar short-covering orders before the Fed Chairman’s testimony to the US Congress. The Baht, however, rebounded after the Fed Chairman’s comment was seen as a signa... Read more
5 Jul 2019
The Baht fell slightly after having hit a 6-year high of THB30.52/USD. The Baht rose on net foreign stock and bond buying orders, while the US dollar fell on weak economic data that reinforced expectations about the Fed policy rate cut. However, the Baht pared those gains later, while the US dollar ... Read more
28 Jun 2019
The Baht strengthened against the US dollar during the week. The Baht hit a new 6-year high of THB30.62/USD early in the week amid expectations that the Fed might cut its policy rate at its meeting in July. However, the Baht fell on position adjustment around mid-week before bouncing back after the ... Read more
25 Jun 2019
Bridge loans and working capital loans for corporate accelerated in May while retail loans in almost every category, especially auto loans as well as secured and unsecured personal loans, continued to increase. Hence, the net loans of 14 Thai commercial banks as of the end of May 2019 rose by almost... Read more
21 Jun 2019
The Baht hit a 6-year high against the US dollar. The Baht fell briefly early in the week, as investors covered their short US dollar positions ahead of the FOMC meeting. However, the Baht rebounded later and hit the strongest level in 6 years at THB30.79/USD after the Fed meeting. Although the Fed ... Read more
20 Jun 2019
KResearch expects Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to keep the policy rates unchanged at 1.75 percent during its fourth meeting of 2019. The MPC is likely to weigh risk factors to financial stability in its monetary policy. In particular, household debts further accelerated in the first q... Read more
14 Jun 2019
The Baht hit a 3-1/2 month high of THB31.14/USD. The Baht rose along with net foreign stock and bond buying orders earlier in the week. In addition, the US dollar tumbled on an expectation that the Fed might cut its policy rate by the end of the year, and disappointing US economic data, including we... Read more
7 Jun 2019
The Baht hit the strongest level in over 3 months at THB31.28/USD. The Baht strengthened in line with net foreign stock and bond buying orders, while the US dollar fell on the Fed Chairman’s remarks that the Fed would act appropriately to sustain the US economic expansion, fuelling expectation of th... Read more
31 May 2019
The Baht strengthened, after having fallen earlier in the week. The Baht weakened along with other regional currencies that were pressured by concerns about the trade tension between the US and China. However, the Baht rebounded later in the week on net stock and bond buying orders of foreign invest... Read more
24 May 2019
The Baht rebounded later in the week, after having fallen to the THB32.00/USD level. The Baht fell early to mid week, along with the weaker Yuan and other regional currencies amid heightened trade tension between the US and China. However, the Baht pared losses somewhat and recovered later in the we... Read more
17 May 2019
The Baht weakened later in the week. The Baht fell briefly in line with weaker Yuan and other Asian currencies. The Baht later rebounded to a 2-1/2 month high of THB31.45/USD on net foreign bond buying orders, as market participants put focus on the US Treasury’s FX report. However, the Baht fell la... Read more
10 May 2019
The Baht tested the THB31.55/USD level, an over 1-month high, in late week. The Baht rose early in the week amid heightened tension between the US and China on their trade deal. In addition, there were short-covering orders, as Thai financial markets reopened after long holidays. The Baht weakened b... Read more
7 May 2019
In 2018, the number of ATMs and electronic devices used in the commercial banking system contracted 0.98 percent YoY, against the 5.17 percent growth reported for 2017, representing the first shrinkage in 35 years. Such a contraction was consistent with the substantial increase in the number of fina... Read more
3 May 2019
The Baht fell slightly, but still traded within a narrow range around THB32.00/USD. The Baht edged up early in the week, as the US dollar barely drew any support ahead of the FOMC meeting. The Baht weakened later in the week, as the US dollar rose after the Fed gave no signal to cut its policy rate ... Read more
30 Apr 2019
We at KResearch expect that the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will likely keep its policy rate intact at 1.75 percent during the third meeting of 2019 pending an assessment of Thai economic development and results of the implementation of macro-and micro-prudential monetary poli... Read more
26 Apr 2019
The Baht hit a near 4-month low of THB32.10/USD, before paring losses. The Baht fell in line with net foreign selling orders of Thai bonds and weak regional currencies. The US dollar rose on stronger-than-expected US economic data, and also extended gains against the Euro on the back of concerns abo... Read more
25 Apr 2019
The Baht weakened past THB32.00/USD, moving within a range of THB32.02-32.09/USD on April 25, 2019, representing the weakest level since the beginning of 2019 and declining by approximately 1.5 percent from that reported one month ago. The softening Thai currency was consistent with cautious stance ... Read more
Net loans in March 2019 expanded from the previous month but the increase fails to lift the overall loans in 1Q19 back to positive territory. Net loans declined by 0.11 percent compared to the outstanding loans at the end of 2018, attributable chiefly to a steady drop of corporate and SME loans of s... Read more
19 Apr 2019
The Baht fell to THB31.80/USD. The Baht weakened after the reopening of domestic financial markets following long public holidays. The Baht’s weakness was in line with net foreign stock and bond selling orders while the US dollar gained on stronger-than-expected US economic data, including a fall in... Read more
12 Apr 2019
The Bank of Thailand recently sent a warning about increasing risks associated with auto loans due to competitive tactics by some banks in collaboration with some auto companies and car dealers to approve loan amount beyond the collateral value. For example, they did not deduct the discount the cust... Read more
The Baht pared gains later in the week. The Baht rose early in the week on foreign investors’ net buying orders of Thai stocks, while the US dollar fell on a weak US Factory Orders data for February. Later, the Baht pared gains on net foreign bond selling orders, as well as weak regional currencies,... Read more
5 Apr 2019
The cancellation of funds transfer fee via digital channels was the main factor that continued to pressure operating results of Thai commercial banks during 1Q19. It is expected that their fees from other transactions, in particular insurance brokerage, management and advisory fees, may grow at a sl... Read more
The Baht fell later in the week. The Baht rose early in the week in alignment with the Yuan and other regional currencies amid stronger-than-expected Chinese PMI reported for March. However, the Baht’s upside gains were still limited as market participants awaited a clearer picture of domestic polit... Read more
29 Mar 2019
The Baht rebounded slightly, after having fallen earlier in the week. The Baht fell early to mid week in line with net foreign selling orders in the Thai stock and bond markets, while investors kept an eye on political situations after the general elections. In addition, the US Dollar rose amid conc... Read more
26 Mar 2019
Net loans accelerated in February, supported by key retail loans, i.e. home and auto hire-purchase loans, in line with growing loan demand as a result of short-term factors. These include higher number of home ownership transfers before the enforcement of a new home loan measure on April 1, 2019 and... Read more
22 Mar 2019
The Baht stayed in a narrow range, but was volatile after the MPC and FOMC meetings. The Baht moved in a narrow band before falling to a 2-week low of THB31.97/USD after the BOT’s MPC members unanimously voted to keep its policy rate at 1.75%, and the BOT also revised downward its 2019 GDP forecast.... Read more
15 Mar 2019
The Baht edged up against the US dollar. The Baht rose slightly early in the week while the US dollar fell on weaker-than-expected US CPI and PPI reports for February. The soft US inflation figures reinforced expectations that the Fed’s policy rate-hike pace would be slower this year. However, the B... Read more
1 Mar 2019
The Baht hit a 1-month low. The Baht edged up early in the week on optimism about the US-China trade talks. The Baht, however, tumbled to a 1-month low of THB31.76/USD on the back of foreign investors’ selling orders of Thai stocks and bonds late in the week. The US dollar also gained on the rising ... Read more
26 Feb 2019
KResearch summarizes the information about loans, deposits and financial liquidity at 14 Thai commercial banks as of the end of January 2019 based on the Summary Statement of Assets and Liabilities with highlights as follows: ... Read more
22 Feb 2019
The Baht hit the highest level in more than 5 years at THB31.07/USD, before reversing those gains later in the week. The Baht rose along with risky assets and other regional currencies, including the Yuan amid the US-China trade talks. It also gained on hefty net foreign stock buying orders in mid-w... Read more
20 Feb 2019
It is worth noting that although foreign investors have held a net selling position in both the Thai stock and bond markets, with a combined worth of approximately THB20.4 billion, since early 2019, the Baht has appreciated quite substantially against other Asian currencies, in particular the Yuan, ... Read more
8 Feb 2019
The Baht traded in a narrow range, before weakening later in the week. Although the Baht moved within a limited range, it had a slightly strong bias on the back of net foreign stock and bond buying orders. However, the Baht fell later in the week on the BOT’s signal to step into the market ... Read more
1 Feb 2019
The Baht hit an almost 9-month high of THB31.18/USD after the FOMC meeting. The Baht rose in line with net foreign stock buying orders and other Asian currencies. The US dollar, however, tumbled on the Fed’s dovish statement. The Fed cut a reference to the Fed’s plan for further gradual rate hikes a... Read more
31 Jan 2019
Thai Baht has surged to THB31.23/USD or up 4.4 percent from the beginning of this year due mainly to a weaker US dollar. The movement of Thai Baht was in alignment with other currencies in the region. However, from the beginning of this year, the Thai currency hit a record high in nine months and be... Read more
KResearch expects the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to keep the policy rate unchanged at 1.75 percent during the upcoming meeting after it raised policy rate by 0.25 percentage point on December 19, 2018. Since the Thai GDP growth begins to show signs of slowdown, the... Read more
Over the past few years, the Bank of Thailand (BOT), Ministry of Finance and other relevant agencies have gradually introduced notifications and/or regulations to supervise various types of retail loans. Their attempts are intended to set clear scopes and conditions for related businesses, as well a... Read more
29 Jan 2019
In December 2018, net loans overall grew over the previous month by THB118 billion, or 1.03 percent MoM. As a result, net loans for 2018 increased 5.17 percent YoY, with net outstanding loans outstanding at THB11.63 trillion. Growth was seen in all types of loans, led by retail loans. Meanwhile, out... Read more
18 Jan 2019
The Baht hit an 8-month high before paring gains later in the week. The Baht rose in line with net foreign stock buying orders and rising risky assets. Meanwhile, the US dollar faced sell-offs on the back of weak US economic data, signals to slow the US-rate hike path from the Fed Vice Chairman, and... Read more
4 Jan 2019
The uptrend of interest rate is ultimately evident by commercial banks’s decisions to raise their interest rates by starting from deposit rates. Their fixed-deposit rates for three, six, 12, 24 and 36 months are raised by 25 basis points. Hence, the fixed deposit rates of some major commercial banks... Read more
The Baht hit a 7-month high of THB32.00/USD. A stronger Baht was due to the US dollar’s sell-offs amid concerns about a partial government shutdown. Meanwhile, weaker-than-expected US economic data hurt the US dollar sentiment and reinforced worries about uncertain US interest rate hike cycle. The B... Read more
28 Dec 2018
The Baht rose to test THB32.40/USD later in the week amid the US dollar’s sell-offs on the back of concerns about the US partial government shutdown, economic slowdown in the US and globally, as well as prolonged trade tension between the US and China.... Read more
26 Dec 2018
The credit card business is likely to end the year with satisfactory growth, similar to other types of retail loans. Toward the year-end, competition of the credit card business is characterized by active campaigns and special promotions presented by commercial banks and non-bank operators to boost ... Read more
24 Dec 2018
The year 2018 has been another year for Thai banks to always be vigilant of various issues. While their fee incomes have contracted due to the reduction of digital funds transfer fees, loan growth has been helpful in offsetting this negative factor. With the support of retail loan growth in the last... Read more
20 Dec 2018
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) agrees to lift the policy rate by 0.25 percentage points from 1.50 to 1.75, the first rate increase in seven years. The lift is aimed at building policy space for the future. KResearch views that the policy rate increase is unlikely to have a significant impact on... Read more
14 Dec 2018
KResearch views that there is a greater chance that this year’s last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will resolve to increase the policy interest rate by 0.25 percent after some signals were clearly sent by the committee on the necessity to rebalance the monetary policy in order to en... Read more
The Baht rose, but within a narrow range. The Baht rose slightly in line with the Yuan and other Asian currencies amid easing concerns about the US-China trade tension after news reported that China could undo the tariffs on American-made cars. However, the Baht’s upside gains were capped later whil... Read more
30 Nov 2018
The Baht broke the THB33.00/USD level. The Baht rose amid the US dollar’s sell-offs after the Fed Chairman said that the Fed’s benchmark rate is just below neutral level. The remarks were seen as a signal for a slower tightening cycle of the Fed rate hikes in 2019. However, the Baht’s upside gains w... Read more
23 Nov 2018
The Baht weakened later in the week. It briefly rose early in the week on doubts about the US rate-hike outlook next year after Fed officials expressed concerns about the weaker global economic outlook. However, the Baht reversed gains and fell later in the week on a weaker-than-expected 3Q-18 Thai ... Read more
16 Nov 2018
The Baht was stronger than THB33.00/USD again. It briefly fell early in the week on the US rate-hike prospect, which helped support the US dollar sentiment. However, the Baht rebounded later on as the US dollar faced sell-offs amid hopes for solutions toward the BREXIT deal and US-China trade negoti... Read more
9 Nov 2018
The Baht was weaker than THB33.00/USD again. The Baht was volatile early in the week ahead of the US mid-term elections. However, the Baht rebounded later on as the US dollar fell after the midterm elections results. Democrats won the U.S. House of Representatives while Republicans held on to their ... Read more
The Bank of Thailand has announced the criteria to supervise housing loans by adjusting certain details in the Consultation Paper and postponed the effective date to April 1, next year (from the initial schedule of January 2019). The new requirement will not cover purchase and sale contracts or down... Read more
2 Nov 2018
The Baht strengthened later in the week. The Baht hit a 2-1/2 month low of THB33.32/USD in early week amid the weakening Asian currencies and Yuan on the back of news that the US will escalate its trade dispute with China by imposing tariffs on all remaining imports from China. The US dollar rose fu... Read more
26 Oct 2018
The Baht weakened and later broke the THB33.00/USD level. The Baht fell on a disappointing Thai export data and hefty net foreign stock selling-orders during the week. Meanwhile, the US dollar rose amid risk aversion, triggered by concerns about the EU’s formal steps to reject Italy's budget and Chi... Read more
In September, net loans in the Thai commercial banking system rose THB3.76 billion or 0.03 percent over the previous month, reaching THB11.345 trillion. The increase, which was supported by growth in all types of retail loans, resulted in the rise in net outstanding loans by 5.78 percent as compared... Read more