BoT pushes for faster borrower searches

The Bank of Thailand is urging banks to speed up searches for borrowers who cannot be contacted to prevent a rise in non-performing loans (NPL) in the banking sector this year.

The central bank is waiting for comprehensive NPL data from financial institutions, especially for loans to the 6% of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) debtors who cannot be contacted and applied for the debt relief measure scheme, said Ronadol Numnonda, deputy governor for financial institutions stability.

On April 23, the central bank implemented debt relief measures to help SMEs reeling from the pandemic fallout, but the measures were scheduled to end on Oct 22.

The bank decided in October to extend the period to next June for SMEs with a credit line below 100 million baht and difficulty in servicing existing debts.

The extension period will end on June 30, 2021. The extension will…