The surge in Thai consumer borrowing during the pandemic has become a campaign issue in the south-east Asian country, with populist politicians pushing for a multiyear debt holiday.
Thai households owe more as a percentage of gross domestic product than any other country in the region, according to the latest Bank of Thailand figures, reflecting a jump in borrowing that occurred as Covid dealt a blow to an economy that relies heavily on tourist revenues.
Thai consumer debt stood last September at 14.9tn baht ($43bn), or 86.8 per cent of GDP, up from 70 per cent in early 2020. Between 2019 and 2020, consumer loan delinquencies of up to 90 days tripled to more than Bt1tn — and have stayed above that level ever since, the central bank says.
“Covid has turned people with good discipline into ones with severe debt in just two years,” said Surapol Opasatien, chief executive of…
