Executive vice president Boontuck Wungcharoen believes that of Thailand's two million SMEs, about 30 per cent fall within the bank's target group for this campaign. Eligible applicants must have total sales of not more than Bt10 million and submit the full application as required.

Boontuck said SMEs had always been underserved by his bank. Many had potential but were only short of funds. The bank has developed an in-house credit-scoring model to analyse SMEs.

"The model calculates factors like cash-flow and prospects for the business the applicant is about to start," said Boontuck.

"The quickest we can let applicants know whether their loans are approved is three days. Most banks take up to 30 days," he said.

First-half data show Kasikornbank granted about Bt240 billion in loans to 160,000 SMEs. It is hoped this campaign will help achieve its 16-per-cent growth target for the entire year.

The bank's non-performing loans (NPLs) increased to almost 2 per cent of total SME loans. Boontuck said his bank would monitor NPLs from the new campaign but believed they would fall within an acceptable range. Currently, the bank's SME portfolio accounts for more than 50 per cent of its Bt450 billion worth of corporate loans. If the campaign succeeds, the proportion of SME loans would increase to 60 per cent.

Kasikornbank plans to capture 30 per cent of the SME loan market within three years, which would make it the biggest player in the market.

The campaign kicks off on August 15.

Piyarat Setthasiriphaiboon

The Nation