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Published on February 6, 2008

The small bank currently has assets of Bt88.8 billion.

The bank had been upgraded from a finance company to a bank and has operated as a full commercial lender since late 2005. Auto loans form its core business, as with Thanachart Bank and Tisco Bank after they were upgraded from finance firms.

Although Kiatnakin Bank plans to increase its assets by Bt11.20 billion this year, its ranking by size still places it on the lower end of the scale.

However, its profitability appears to be quite strong, said president Tawatchai Sudtikitpisan.

Kiatnakin Bank recorded a net profit of Bt2.15 billion in 2007, up 5.89 per cent from Bt2.03 billion the previous year. The bank plans to expand lending by Bt20 billion this year, with a growth rate of 30 per cent from outstanding loans of BtBt65.08 billion today, Tawatchai said.

This would mainly come from car loans where the growth rate is expected to be 35 per cent this year.

Its auto-loan portfolio is Bt42.2 billion, representing 42 per cent and the largest portion of its outstanding loans.

The bank plans to increase deposits by 20 per cent from Bt70 billion to Bt86 billion by the end of the year.

It also wants to increase its savings accounts by 70 per cent to 15,000 from 9,000 at present.

Kiatnakin Bank plans to open 10 branches nationwide this year.

It aims to attract savers with interest rates that are 25 to 50 basis points higher than those offered by large banks.

It will also focus on middle-to-high-end customers who can deposit at least Bt2 million, while the maturity periods of its fixed deposits are set between 12 and 18 months.

Somruedi Banchongduang

The Nation