bank red tape ties up stimulus handouts

Despite a survey showing that 82 per cent of recipients planned to spend the full Bt2,000, some may have problems doing this. A recipient in Nakhon Ratchasima was told by an officer of one of the top four banks that he needed to open a savings account to receive the cheque, which requires a minimum deposit of Bt500. Plus, he was told he would have to pay an additional fee for an ATM card. The recipient followed the instructions, only to find out that the account was unnecessary.

Things were even worse for a recipient in Khon Kaen, who was told by a bank officer to park the entire Bt2,000 in her bank account.

It is bizarre that these officers were so eager to enforce these rules, when banks have seen a drop in borrowing demand. More deposits would only raise the banks' costs and hurt their profitability. Plus, it is the government's policy to have all recipients spend as much as possible of the Bt2,000 amount.

Despite all the headaches, Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij remained cheerful. Earlier, he was adamant that there would be no problems in implementing the scheme. On March 26, when the first cheques were handed out, he was seen smiling broadly at Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's side.

In the evening of the same day, he maintained that smile when presiding over Tisco Group's 40th anniversary party. And he managed to deliver a speech to the audience recalling his good memories of being a young financier at Jardine Fleming Thanakom Securities. That was back in 1995, when Tisco and JF jointly underwrote the initial public offering shares of Electricity Generating, the first private power producer.

One day, he asked to meet Sivaporn Dardarananda, then chairman of Thai Investment and Securities, the forerunner of Tisco, after the financial crisis. Korn wanted to see a higher underwriting fee. He recalled that Sivaporn was polishing his Glock handgun that day. Very much Korn's senior, Sivaporn wore a stern expression as he looked up and asked what Korn wanted. The future minister was lost for words - and the experience remains etched in his mind till this day.

The story elicited laughter from the audience. Notably, none of them qualified to receive a Bt2,000 cheque. As they are all spared the headaches involved, Korn was spared from complaints.