BANGKOK (Reuters): Thai banks' non-performing loans (NPLs) rose to 2.97% of outstanding loans at the end of September, the highest level in nearly three years, the central bank said on Tuesday.
The increase, from 2.84% at the end of June, was partly due to a decline in the loan base and higher NPLs from business and consumer loans, but banks continued to manage their portfolios and provide support to debtors, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) said.
There was a need to monitor the debt serviceability of smaller businesses and households with slower income recovery and elevated debt burden, as well as businesses hit by structural issues and declining competitiveness, it said in a statement.
"These could cause a gradual increase in NPLs but remain well manageable," the BOT said, adding the banking system remained resilient.
Rising NPLs among vulnerable groups were a concern, assistant governor Suwannee Jatsadasak told a press conference.
Thailand's government has been urging banks to increase credit access amid tepid growth of an economy that expanded just 1.9% last year, held back by high levels of household debt.
Suwannee said the ratio of household debt to gross domestic product likely dropped slightly at the end of the third quarter, from 89.6% at the end of the second quarter. The ratio is one of the highest in Asia.
Bank lending is expected to rise slightly in the final quarter of 2024, she added.
Banks' loans dropped 2% in the September quarter from a year earlier, the biggest fall since 2010, due mainly to debt repayments, particularly from the government and large companies, the BOT said.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Kitiphong Thaichareon and Thanadech Staporncharnchai; Editing by John Mair, Martin Petty) - Reuters
