New tmb bank chief boontuck outlines ambitious plans

TMB started returning to profitability in the first quar¬ter with a net profit of Bt1.59 billion after losing Bt12 billion and Bt43 billion in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

Boontuck, a former senior executive of Kasikornbank, said TMB, now 30percent owned by the Dutchbased ING Group, will first sell off a combined Bt30 billion worth of nonperforming loans (NPLs) and assets this year.

The sale of these assets will reduce its NPL ratio from 16 per cent to less than 10 per cent, said the chief risk officer.

He said the bank would then be able to move forward without having to worry about this issue.

Second, TMB will boost good loans by Bt20 billion and deposits by Bt25 billion over the next five months.

As of last month, it was ranked the sixthlargest local bank in assets, which totalled Bt621 billion. Its cap¬italadequacy ratio is 16 per cent.

In addition, the bank will expand its network by adding 40 new branches and renovate 20 existing ones while provid¬ing global support to local cus¬tomers via ING's network, with initial targets being markets in China, India and South Korea, where ING currently has local partners.

"We also want to transform TMB into a 'customercentric' bank with specific strategies for each customer segment. We also emphasise human resources as people are the key assets to delivering results," said Boontuck.

"At present, we have about 9,000 staff, and an annual budget of Bt400 mil¬lion has been approved with which to adjust salaries."

To support the bank's aspi¬ration of being a leading play¬er in the market within the next three to five years, Boontuck said a longrange strategic plan would also be approved by management by the end of the third quarter. Essentially, the bank plans to boost its mar¬ket share from 9 per cent to 1520 per cent.

"In Thailand, the top four major banks have a combined market share of 6070 per cent, so you need to be in that league if you're going to have an influ¬ence on the market," said Boontuck, who was handpicked as chief executive by ING.