State Bank Goes All Out! Preparing a substantial New Year gift to please customers, the “Government Savings Bank” proposes a 30% interest refund for customers with good payment history. Meanwhile, the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) launches a project for good payers, and the Government Housing Bank (GH Bank) provides organic rice to 600,000 customers.

Mr. Chatchai Payuhanaveechai, Director of the Government Savings Bank, revealed that the bank has completed its New Year gift package for 2019 and has submitted it to Mr. Apisak Tantivorawong, the Minister of Finance, for consideration by the Cabinet. The package includes three measures: a refund of interest for small borrowers with loans not exceeding 200,000 baht who have maintained good payment records according to the bank's conditions over the past year. They will receive the refunded interest credited to their accounts.

Currently, the bank has over 1 million small customers with loans not exceeding 200,000 baht. Those who have made timely payments throughout 2018, starting from the accounting period of December 2017 to November 2018, will receive their interest refunds, which are expected to be credited to their accounts by January next year.


Additionally, there is a low-interest loan program for laborers, allowing grassroots citizens who are not farmers to apply for loans for various purposes, whether to address debts from informal lenders or to cover essential daily expenses. The loan limit is set at 50,000 baht with an interest rate not exceeding 0.85% per month, which is lower than the informal loans that charge up to 10% per month. For those looking to apply for loans to start a business, the bank will also have special loans available of up to 200,000 baht.


Another gift measure involves increasing the interest rates on fixed deposits for 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months by 0.25% per year for individuals and non-profit entities. This increase has already been implemented since December 24, and the bank has also announced that it will not adjust interest rates on loans for small customers during this period to protect grassroots citizens from the impact of repayments.


“The budget for this year's New Year gift measures will come from the bank's own revenue, without requesting compensation from the government. However, we will ask the Ministry of Finance to use it as a performance evaluation indicator for the bank. Currently, the bank has already submitted the proposal and is just waiting for the Cabinet's resolution. Once approved, we are ready to implement it immediately, as the bank has an unlimited loan budget to ensure that all laborers can access it,” Mr. Chatchai stated.
Mr. Chatchai further mentioned that this year's New Year gift from the Government Savings Bank will focus on supporting laborers, a large group in the country that has not received adequate assistance to access funding sources to improve their quality of life. This initiative also aims to encourage people to increase their income if they maintain discipline in repayments or improve their savings habits.


According to reports from the Ministry of Finance, the interest refund measure for small borrowers with loans not exceeding 200,000 baht will refund interest at a rate of 30%.


Mr. Chatchai Sirilai, Managing Director of the Government Housing Bank (GH Bank), stated that this year's New Year gift will include organic rice bags for all customers with loans not exceeding 1 million baht, totaling about 600,000 customers, to support farmers' agricultural products and help improve rice prices in line with government policy.


Mr. Apirak Sukprasert, Manager of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), mentioned that BAAC has organized the “Good Payer Refund” project as a New Year gift for farmers with good payment records by December 28. The bank will refund loan interest to BAAC customers who have outstanding principal amounts.

 

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