Chief executive officer Wichit Phayuhanaveechai said during the first six months (January – June 2015), Summit Capital continues to see steady growth both in terms of lending volume growing by 56 per cent and loan agreement numbers rising by 50 per cent compared with the same period last year. He attributes the success to the company's aggressive growth strategy by expanding its footprint across the country. The company plans to open at least one branch per month and expects to see a 50 per cent rise in the total number of its employees to about 1,000 by the end of 2015.
To sustain strong growth in the future, the company has allocated over 20 million baht for technology enhancements to establish the Summit Capital Credit Centre on the third floor of Sri Fuang Fung Building on Rama IV Road. Seen as the hub of the company's credit operations, it will ensure more efficient, secure and faster integrated workflows between branches throughout the country, from the verification of required documents, information storage and the assessment of the applicants' creditworthiness to the approval process.
He said despite having fast loan approval process done in 30 minutes, which is regarded as one of the company's major competitive advantages, continued enhancements to its credit operation system and communication channels are a vital component to maintain service excellence. Many advanced, innovative technologies are adopted such as the Fax Server that enables high-volume document delivery from nationwide branches to the headquarters with greater speed.
An automated underwriting program is also used for more accurate and quicker loan approvals, allowing the company to better screen applicants in order to minimise the risks of bad debts as well as inspecting borrowers who tend to be engaged in corrupt acts. This automatic engine gives the company more flexibility in meeting future needs arising from changes in its policy..
An upgrade of data security controls is another important area of concern for Summit Capital. Software-based security solutions have been brought in to protect the financial and personal information of its customers and over 1,000 partner dealerships. A valid user account and password are also required to access confidential documents.
Summit Capital plans to invest more in technology according to its short, medium and long-term development plans and a special unit has been set up to analyse and evaluate the performance of the new operating systems. These moves are expected to play a crucial role in helping Summit Capital achieve its ambitious goal to become the No.1 motorcycle hire-purchase lender in five years.