Arun Chirachavala, president of Siam City Bank, said yesterday that he anticipated at least 40,000 to 50,000 customers would apply for the two products: Instant SCIB VIP Credit and Instant SCIB Credit. The bank expects to lend an average of Bt20,000 per client.

The bank launched the products at the Thai Red Cross Society fair this week and has already approved loans for about 3,000 customers.

Instant SCIB VIP Credit requires a minimum monthly salary of Bt30,000 for private-sector employees and Bt20,000 for state employees, while all Instant SCIB Credit customers must have a minimum salary of Bt10,000. The products' credit line is limited to triple a customer's monthly salary, with an overall cap of Bt1 million for Instant SCIB VIP Credit.

Arun said the bank's policy to approve personal loans for customers with complete documentation within one hour was the strongest selling point.

"Currently, the competition among personal-loan providers is quite strong, but our policy to approve loans within one hour will be competitive," he said.

However, borrowers will only receive Bt5,000 with Instant SCIB Credit or Bt10,000 with Instant SCIB VIP Credit immediately after being approved. The remaining balance can be withdrawn via a personal loan card after two weeks.

The loans do not require an application, or a co-signatory. The required monthly repayment is 5 per cent of the total loan, or a minimum of Bt500. 

0ranan Paweewun

The Nation