The Supha Wongsena Foundation For Debtors' Rights Reform has urged the government to provide the Land Bank Administration Institute with more funding to help people pay off their debts.
The call came during a seminar on finding a solution to household debt last Thursday, organised by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) at the DSI Academy in Nong Chok district.
Arjin Joonglook, the foundation's vice chairwoman, said her organisation is working on a project to help debtors avoid having their assets seized. She cited a case in Phatthalung as an example.
Ms Arjin said one man lost his house because he owed money to the Government Savings Bank, so he sought help from the foundation. The foundation was able to help the debtor get a loan from the Land Bank of the Land Bank Administration Institute.
The debtor submitted his mortgage application, and in three to six months, he was given a loan to buy back his house. The bank also gave him career training so he could earn more money.
"I want the government to provide the Land Bank with a bigger budget so it can help more debtors clear their financial problems quickly," said Ms Arjin.
The government's policy to "end people's hardship", which then prime minister Srettha Thavisin announced on May 17 of last year, includes plans to address issues regarding various types of debt, including household debt, debts owed to farmers, and debts owed to the Student Loan Fund, said Justice Minister Pol Col Tawee Sodsong, who attended the seminar.
Pol Col Tawee said the government has partly achieved the goal, citing the Interior Ministry's success in clearing informal debts.
However, he said 90% of all debts are formal ones, adding three million cases related to such debts, worth thousands of millions of baht, have been filed with the Legal Execution Department, with debtors in 700,000 cases having had their assets seized.
The minister said the government's first objective is to assist citizens in paying off official debts. The House's subcommittee on land, buildings and state enterprises approved a Land Bank Administration Institute budget of 470 million baht at a meeting last Friday. The subcommittee approved the budget without reducing it.