"We'll raise the credit-card rate for new applicants around February or March by considering the market environment now that some foreign banks have increased their rates. I believe local banks will follow suit, due to funding-cost increases," executive vice president Pradeep Roy said yesterday.

The bank's rate move will not impact its cardholders significantly, he said. The bank's customers who paid off their debts in instalments represented only 30-40 per cent of its total of 1.6 million cards, lower than the industry's average instalment-payment proportion of 55-60 per cent.

All holders of the bank's credit cards will be charged 20 per cent in July, in accordance with Bank of Thailand regulations.

SCB this month increased the minimum payment for credit-card loans from 5 per cent of the total balance to 8 per cent. The rate will be raised to 10 per cent in April, in compliance with central bank rules.

SCB is the industry's largest credit-card issuer by card base, which it plans to expand by 150,000 to 1.75 million cards this year. Although the New Year's Eve bomb attacks in the capital will affect the country's consumption, the situation is expected to return to normal soon.

"The bank does not need to adjust its marketing plan or enhance promotional campaigns for the credit-card business, despite the recent bombings," said Pradeep. "We'll maintain the existing plan unchanged."

This year, SCB plans to launch several marketing campaigns joining forces with partners in many businesses. Entertainment marketing is part of this strategy.

"Entertainment marketing would help the bank in terms of brand-building, particularly for younger groups. As SCB is quite an old bank, its customers' average age is rising. Thus, we could expand our customer base for a new generation," said Pradeep.

Somruedi Banchongduang

The Nation