Thada Jarukitpaisal said the extended-term loan was introduced for two main reasons - to lower the monthly debt payment burden for the bank's customers and to create a unique loan product. 

The bank yesterday relaunched its personal loan called PersonalCash XtraLong, which is based on its existing loan product but with an extended repayment period from 60 months to 84 months. The minimum maturity period is unchanged at 12 months.

 "Strong competition is expected in the personal-loan sector this year, so the bank has developed this product to differentiate us from our competitors who only offer personal loans for a maximum of 60 months," he said.

The bank's average loan period for personal loans is 40 months and interest rates vary from 18 per cent to 27 per cent per year, depending on individual customers' profile and their debt repayment history.

Thada said the repayment record of personal loans is still good despite the increase in political instability. The percentage of defaults on personal loans is around 2 per cent, compared to the industry rate of between 3 per cent to 6 per cent.

Somruedi Banchongduang

The Nation