9 Oct 2020
Financial Institutions
KResearch assesses that the pandemic-stricken economic environment continued to undermine commercial banks’ profitability in 3Q20, with both interest income and fee income on a declining trend that corresponds to the continuous slump in economic activity across many sectors. Moreover, the interest income of the entire system of Thai commercial banks was further impacted by the downward trend in lending rates, which have been falling since late 2019. KResearch projects that the net profit of the Thai banking system in 3Q20 will fall to an estimated level of THB 30.8 billion, or a drop of 66.5 percent YoY in comparison to a net profit of THB 91.6 billion in 3Q19 wherein one particular bank recorded extraordinary profit through the sale of an insurance company’s shares that the bank had held. Nonetheless, this net profit inched up slightly, by around 3.7 percent, compared to the previous quarter due to lower provisioning expenses for 3Q20 among several commercial banks that may somewhat experienced a slowdown after they pursued a proactive provision policy by setting aside exceptionally high provisioning in 2Q20... Read more
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1 Sep 2020
KResearch views that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is an important catalyst in transforming the way Thai consumers conduct funds transfer and pay for goods and services. Such trends have given rise to the “New Normal” which is geared towards making money transfers and purchases that do not require physical contact, or contactless payment. Based on surveys conducted by KResearch... Read more
23 Jul 2020
KResearch assesses that, as of 2020, digital lending service in Thailand is still in its infancy and modest in scale as digital lenders lack sufficient customer data for risk profile assessment. Therefore, digital lending service during this initial period is seen mainly as an alternative for existing borrowers. Digital credit providers tend to grant short-term loans (1-3 months on average) with small credit lines and at high interest rates. These loans are suitable for general customers seeking emergency cash for consumption, or micro enterprises that need emergency funding as working capital for their businesses. ... Read more
20 Jul 2020
Persistent weakness seen in the Thai economy as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic since early 2020 has substantially hurt the profitability of commercial banks during 2Q20. The highly volatile economic cycle at this time has pressured income of commercial banks’ core businesses and in turn driven up their expected credit losses to a higher-than-normal level.... Read more
29 May 2020
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has altered the business environment of commercial banks in two ways: 1) The speed of disruption has become faster; and, 2) There has been a “New Normal” environment in the commercial banking business. Such changes have inevitably affected business model of commercial banks. ... Read more
8 Apr 2020
On 7 April 2020, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) issued additional measures to assist the private sector in combating the COVID-19 which primarily concern short-term liquidity boosting measures offered to small to medium enterprises (SMEs) that have been affected by the spread of the COVID-19 virus – a global crisis which has tended to only increase in severity and is likely to take some time to be resolved. Furthermore, the BOT has issued additional measures to maintain the stability of the corporate bond market as a means of fund mobilization via debenture issuance, allowing high-grade businesses to continue their operations. ... 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 lending standards, based on the debt service ratio (DSR). Such details will likely be announced by the BOT soon.... 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 commercial banks, including interest income, plus fees and service income, hinges on a clear economic recovery, which is expected to begin during 2H19.... 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
23 Mar 2018
We at KResearch expect that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will likely keep its policy rate unchanged at 1.50 percent during the second meeting of 2018 scheduled for March 28 to ensure continuing growth in the Thai economy going forward amid a number of external risks, in particular a possible US-China trade war. The current inflation rate, which remains at the lower band of the Bank of Thailand’s inflation target, will also support the MPC to continue its accommodative monetary policy stance. ... Read more