The Bank of Thailand has issued a temporary measure allowing state-run banks of the Assets Management Company to establish joint asset management entities, to address the non-performing loans (NPLs) of specialised financial institutions (SFIs).

Ronadol Numnonda, the central bank’s deputy governor for financial institution stability, said today that financial help is necessary for many debtors of the SFIs, who have become NPLs after being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said that the asset management companies must be formed this year to manage the NPLs for a period of 15 years, which includes debt restructuring, adjustment of repayment instalments and debt repayment terms.

The deputy governor hopes that the temporary measure will help the debtors to service their debts, while enabling SFIs to manage the NPLs on their books effectively.

There are seven SFIs in Thailand, namely the Government Savings Bank, the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, the Government Housing Bank, the Exim Bank, the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank (SME Bank), the Credit Guarantee Corp and the Islamic Bank of Thailand.