Ms. Noppawan Jermhansa, Executive Vice President of KASIKORNBANK, said that since spending by Thai consumers for travel, special occasions and second-term tuition fees for children typically increases towards the yearend, KBank has improved our personal loan services to meet such needs, focusing primarily on salaried employees enrolled in the KBank payroll service and those with monthly incomes of at least THB15,000 and higher. Outstanding features of the K-Personal Loan program include special monthly interest rate at 0.76 percent, a maximum credit line of 5 times one's monthly income, or up to THB1.5 million and 5-year installment plan without collateral, personal guarantees or fee required. Loan applications approved by December 31, 2016, will get Limited Edition gifts from Teddy House.
KBank recognizes the importance of personal loan services for retail consumers needing additional funds for necessary payments above their regular expenditures. However, KBank continues to exercise caution towards loan growth; thus, we are expanding our market presence in a prudent manner, focusing only on quality, low-risk customers. KBank is targeting personal loan growth almost at parity with the overall market expansion of 3-5 percent.
With regard to the overall outlook and operational directions of personal loan lenders in the market, it is expected that commercial banks, in particular, will remain cautious towards loan policies and use stringent criteria in new customer screening. Meanwhile, some non-banks will begin to expand their customer bases upcountry – where the economy has been growing steadily – to increase their earnings and avoid the intense competition in Greater Bangkok.