According to Mr Paopoom, within the past two years the government launched 15 measures addressing debt relief, debt suspensions and additional lending through Finance Ministry mechanisms, helping close to 6 million people, in addition to the regular lending carried out by financial institutions, reports the Bangkok Post.
"I strongly hope these programmes will be carried on by the Anutin administration and not be abandoned halfway. Specifically, debt relief programmes that have provided assistance to more than 5.61 million people," said Mr Paopoom, who was also deputy leader of the Pheu Thai Party during the administrations of Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Srettha Thavisin.
The ‘Khun Su, Rao Chuay’ (You Fight, We Help) programme, which was designed to help those struggling with mortgage, car and small business loan repayments, included 1.7mn debtors.
The programme was a collaboration between the Bank of Thailand and several agencies to support retail borrowers and small businesses struggling with debt, enabling them to restructure loans, ease their financial burdens, and regain financial stability more quickly.
The agricultural debt-relief (farmer debt suspension) measure assisted 1.43mn farmers in Phase 1 and 1.34mn farmers in Phase 2, with a total debt amount of B202 billion.
The debt relief measure for Code 21 debtors covered 1.09mn people, with a total debt amount of B7.62bn. “Code 21” refers to debtors affected by the pandemic and the economic slowdown.
The cooperative credit programme to address debts of government personnel supported 10,319 accounts, with total debts amounting to B4.12bn.
In addition, the “People’s Bank” loan programme to address informal debt approved loans for 39,716 people, with total debts of B1.42bn.
Rising household debt over recent years has raised government concerns that this burden would weigh on Thailand’s economic growth, prompting an urgent search for solutions.
According to the latest report from the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), household debt in the second quarter of this year tallied 87.4% of GDP, marking the first contraction.
However, the NESDC warned that credit quality remains a serious concern. The contraction was largely due to tighter lending standards adopted by financial institutions, rather than a genuine improvement in households’ financial conditions.