GSB still backing low-income borrowers

Government Savings Bank (GSB) plans to continue to help low-income borrowers access loans this year on a fair borrowing cost basis through its newly launched mortgage subsidiary and its existing digital lending application, says president Vitai Ratanakorn.

GSB subsidiary Mee Tee Mee Ngern aims to extend land collateral loans worth 10 billion baht this year. The company is a joint venture between GSB, Dhipaya Group Holdings and Bangchak Corporation.

Mee Tee Mee Ngern was established with 1 billion baht of registered capital, with GSB owning 49%, Dhipaya 31% and Bangchak 20%.

The company extends loans by using land as collateral. It charges an interest rate of 6.99-8.99% per year in the first year, depending on the risk level of applicants.

GSB's MyMo digital lending app targets extending loans to 100,000 borrowers this year, according to the bank's business plan.

The bank posted a profit of 27.1 billion baht as of December 2022, up from 25.3 billion a year before.

It recorded total assets of 3.1 trillion baht last year, with savings of 2.64 trillion and outstanding loans of 2.29 trillion.

GSB's non-performing loans tallied 2.55% of the total loan portfolio, up from 2.49% in 2021, but lower than its target last year of 2.7%.

The bank extended 47.5 billion baht under its "social bank" policy over the past two years, said Mr Vitai.

The policy focuses on providing many schemes of financial assistance with lower interest rates to low-income earners, small business operators and community organisations to help ease their debt burden.

The bank provided debt suspension measures and debt restructuring during the pandemic, which resulted in a decline in the bank's revenue by 10.7 billion baht over the past few years, he said.

GSB contributed 17.4 billion baht to state coffers last year, making it the fourth-largest revenue contributor out of 58 state enterprises.