Siam Commercial Bank, the country’s third-largest lender by assets, reported a 11.5% drop in 2015 net profit, the first yearly decline since 2009, hit by higher provisions and slow loan growth.

SCB, like other major Thai banks, was hit by the country's sluggish economy, which led to slow lending growth and rises in bad debt. Analysts expect a brighter outlook this year due to the government's spending and infrastructure investments.

Net profit was 47.2 billion baht in line with an average 47 billion baht forecast by seven analysts polled by Reuters. SCB had posted a record net profit of 53.3 billion baht in 2014.

Fourth-quarter net profit fell 3.6% from a year earlier to 11.8 billion baht, SCB said in a statement.

"2015 has been a tough year for the sector and SCB. Many unfavourable incidents and a slower-than-expected economic recovery negatively affected the bank's performance," chief executive Arthid Nanthawithaya said.

SCB's non-performing loans (NPLs) increased to 2.89% of total lending at the end of 2015, from 2.11% at the end of 2014, while its lending grew 3.2% in 2015.

The bank's provisions jumped 125% last year after loans to Thai steel maker Sahaviriya Steel Industries and its UK subsidiary were classified as NPLs, requiring lenders to set aside special loan loss provisions, it said.

The bank aimed for loan growth of 4-6% in 2016, while NPLs are projected to be around 3% or slightly lower, according to a presentation published on its website.

SCB, valued at US$10.6 billion, is the country's largest lender by market capitalisation. The stock has fallen 6.2% over the last 30 days, the second-worst performance among Thai banks.