Alternately blessed and frustrating Thai financial institution Krungthai Bank plans to have 1,200 branches open by the end of the year.
Weidt Nuchjalearn, Senior Executive Vice President and Managing Director of retail business and network groups for Krungthai Bank, stated that this year the Bank aims to open 80 more branches to make a total of 1,200 branches nationwide.
During the past five months, Krungthai Bank opened 28 new branches and plans to open seve more each month for the next seven months. According to Weidh, educational institutions are a large market for banks. In the past, the bank has opened up branches in leading universities around Thailand, such as Thammasat University, Rangsit and Tha Prachan campus; Mahidol University, Salaya campus; and Kasetsart University, Bang Khaen and Sakhon Nakhon campus.
Besides opening new branches, the bank has also created the KTB U-Card for students. The U-card combines three functions in one card, namely the student ID card, the Krungthai ATM card and as an electronic purse. There are currently 150 institutions with 400,000 students and personnel under the KTB U-Card program.
National News Bureau of Thailand
