The old headquarters of the Bank of Thailand
More and more Thai households are unable to cope with expenses, with debts rising to a record high of 64% of income – a 12% climb from 2012. This is the highest the figure has reached in five years.
University of Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) Economic and Business Forecast Centre (EBFC) Director Thanawat Polwichai said Thailand’s average household debt is THB188,774.54, on which monthly repayment amounts to THB11,671.93.
While loans from banks and loan sharks are offered at equal levels of interest, the study noted that predatory lending increased by as much as 13.6% during the past year. Additionally, low-income earners were the hardest hit by the economic slowdown in the months of April and May. The downturn has left them unable to pay their debts which amount to nearly THB5,000.
Those who failed to pay their debts risked being intimidated and even physically assaulted by the loan sharks, MCOT Online reported.
