Debt Clinic sees surge in applicants

The number of applicants for the Debt Clinic’s unsecured loan restructuring programme recently increased by 2-3 times to around 200,000 because of the impact of the Omicron variant.

The clinic was initiated by the Bank of Thailand and is managed by Sukhumvit Asset Management Company (SAM).

There are around 80,000 unsecured loan accounts with total loans outstanding of around 6 billion baht restructuring their debt with the clinic.

The central bank has adjusted the Debt Clinic’s criteria several times to provide broader opportunities to individual borrowers suffering from the prolonged pandemic.

The Bank of Thailand recently allowed credit cards and personal loans classified as non-performing loans (NPLs) before April 1, 2022 to enter the debt restructuring scheme.

Previously only credit card and personal loan NPLs before Oct 1, 2021 were allowed to enter the…