Mr. Songpol Chevapanyaroj, President of the Deposit Protection Agency, unveiled that the Cabinet, in its meeting on 7 April 2020, approved a one-year extension of deposit protection up to a maximum of 5 million baht. The original date for concluding the protection was 10 August 2020, so the extension is until 10 August 2021. From 11 August 2021, the protection will cover deposits up to 1 million baht.
The decision was taken due to the coronavirus, or COVID-19 outbreak, officially declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, which is having major impacts, both economically and socially, on countries around the world. The virus is causing volatility in financial markets, capital markets and financial systems across the globe, including Thailand. Therefore, in order to abate the effects of the outbreak and maintain the confidence of depositors, as well as strengthening the stability of financial institutions and the economy, the period of deposit protection is extended, as follows:
DEPOSIT PROTECTION
Date Now until 10 August 2021 Maximum (baht) 5 million
Date From 11 August 2021 Maximum (baht) 1 million
The extension of deposit protection will help build confidence among depositors that financial institutions are operating as usual. The protection covers up to 99.65% of the total number of deposits in the system (as of 31 December 2019). Meanwhile, the health of Thai financial institutions will continue to be closely supervised by the concerned authorities.
“This extension safeguards the rights of depositors so they can be assured that the Deposit Protection Agency will look after their interests to the best of its ability as we overcome the crisis together,” concluded Mr. Songpol.