A surge in regional business expansion is forecasted for major local banks in Thailand due to the growth potential of ASEAN economies. This outlook has been provided by Fitch Ratings Thailand, indicating promising revenue prospects for these banks through increased regional operations.
In 2023, a noticeable upturn in the regional business of large local banks was observed, primarily due to several cross-border acquisitions. This led to significant overseas loan growth from 2020 to 2022.
The international loan portfolio of domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs) escalated to 10% of total outstanding loans, a rise from 6% in 2020, according to Jindarat Sirisithichote, associate director for financial institutions at Fitch Ratings Thailand.
There are six D-SIBs in Thailand: Bangkok Bank (BBL), Kasikornbank (KBank), Krungthai Bank (KTB), Siam…
