Vitai Ratanakorn, now in his second term as president of Government Savings Bank (GSB), has reiterated the bank's commitment to operating as a social bank, increasing access to the financial system for all people rather than focusing on maximising profits.
He said his goal for his second four-year term is to keep the bank's target on increasing its social impact rather than emphasising profits.
Mr Vitai said over the past four years the bank successfully integrated more than 3 million people with low or no credit into the credit system. These people would typically be rejected by financial institutions.
He said social banking operations would focus on four roles: 1) expanding access to financial services, 2) addressing debt problems, 3) community and social development, and 4) supporting government policies and economic stimulus measures.
These roles are designed to help drive the social impact both in terms of depth and breadth, which are more important than profit margins to GSB, said Mr Vitai.
The bank aims to be the first state specialised financial institution to operate as a business group, comprising 1) Mee Tee Mee Ngern Co, providing land loans and sales on consignment, 2) ARI-AMC, managing non-performing loans and non-performing assets, 3) Ngern Dee Dee Co, offering personal loans via the Good Money app, and 4) GSB IT Management Co, focusing on digital technology.
He said the bank also provided fair interest rates to more than 5 million people over the past four years.
Despite its social focus, the bank remains financially robust, with total reserves of 125 billion baht and a customer base of 24 million.
The bank posted a profit of 33 billion baht last year partially thanks to reduced expenses and an expanded non-social customer base, said Mr Vitai.
"Our role as a social bank remains stable and profitable because we generate revenue from commercial business, then use the profits from those commercial activities to fund our social initiatives," he said.