TMBThanachart Bank (ttb) is developing its digital banking platform to cater to commercial customers, with a keen focus on aggressively increasing fee income in this segment this year.
According to Saran Phuphatana, chief commercial banking officer, ttb established ambitious growth targets for fee-based income for its commercial banking business, encompassing both corporate and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers.
The bank expects a substantial 15% increase this year, rising from the 3% growth rate tallied in 2023, he said.
Mr Saran said the digital platform development for commercial banking will play a pivotal role in driving fee-based income across various business areas, particularly those related to export and import, such as trade finance and foreign exchange management services.
In addition, cash management and insurance services are expected to bolster the bank's fee income within the commercial banking segment this year.
In 2024, ttb anticipates that commercial banking transactions via the digital platform will make up 96% of total transactions for the business segment.
Mr Saran said ttb expects the country's export performance would improve this year, aligning with the global economic recovery.
This improvement is expected to bolster export and import growth rates to 3% and 2%, respectively, for this year, he said.
"Given the increased volatility of foreign exchange rates globally and the uncertainty in the economic and money markets, more attention should be paid to foreign exchange risk protection. Local currency settlement provides a solution to mitigate these risks effectively," said Mr Saran.
In 2023, the dollar-baht volatility was relatively high at 9%, whereas the Asian-baht currency exhibited only a 3% volatility rate.
According to Mr Saran, the bank also encourages customers to utilise local currency as a means to mitigate foreign exchange risks. Additionally, it offers various instruments to assist clients in foreign exchange hedging, such as the ttb multi-currency account, and baht-yuan settlement service through the Yuan Pro Rata Forward product.
He said ttb's primary focus is on maintaining the asset quality of its commercial banking business rather than solely pursuing loan growth for this year.
The bank aims to reduce the risk cost within the business segment to 0.7% for this year, down from 0.86% in the previous year.
Ttb, the country's sixth-largest lender by total assets, plans for commercial outstanding loans to surpass 500 billion baht by year's end, representing growth of 2-3%.
Mr Saran said the bank plans to introduce SME digital lending services in the fourth quarter, starting with small-ticket loans with credit lines worth 2-5 million baht per SME client.
In addition, the bank anticipates expanding its green and blue loans to 10 billion baht this year, up from 8 billion baht last year, while aiming to further grow such loan products to 60 billion baht by 2028.