Top Thai officials pile pressure on central bank to ease rates, citing bank profits

BANGKOK (Bloomberg): Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s key aides renewed calls for an early rate cut to rein in commercial banks from making excessive profits, arguing the highest borrowing costs in a decade will further aggravate an economic crisis.

The Bank of Thailand should set rules to lower the net interest margin earned by commercial banks as it was immoral for lenders to make "record profits amid an economic slowdown,” said Pichai Naripthaphan, an adviser to Srettha.