In 1996, the BBC affair proved to be a spectacular example of a much wider malaise affecting Thai banks and financial institutions: undercollateralised lending in which personal connections seemed to count more than cash flow.

BAM was established later, to manage BBC's non-performing loans (NPLs), and following its success it continued to buy NPLs from other banks.

"Most people condemned us as a bad company," said BAM president Bunyong Visatemongkolchai. "Even some government officials mistakenly thought that we were BBC. I was once confronted by an official who asked, 'How much money have you wasted?'"

While it may be acceptable to find that many ordinary people still don't understand what really happened in the financial crash, it becomes hard for a company to move on when even bankers don't understand.

"One of our customers bought a house that we redecorated. Then the customer went to ask for a loan from a bank. The banker asked why the customer decided to buy an asset from a bad company like us," Bunyong said.

He grew so weary from the unfair reputation that he even thought of changing his company's name. But that idea was soon dropped.

"Whatever name we have, we prefer to let our deeds speak for themselves. I decided to stick with this name and prove we were not a destroyer, but a saver," Bunyong said.

Nowadays, many companies, both local and international, spend millions on advertising and promotions to boost brand awareness. They would do well to remember that the devil is in the details.