8% interest sounds a bit over the top , particularly when some banks like mine ( KBank) offer NO interest at all ...

why do so many teachers need to borrow so much money? What is the underlying cause?

It is typically the "FACE" issue of this country that resulting in such huge amount of loans. Nothing more, nothing less!

1 hour ago, utalkin2me said:

I think everyone should just stop paying their debts. F--- em. That is why you pay the points anyway, because there is a chance, which they are aware of, that they wont get paid.

And then everyone who has money in the bank would find that when they went to make a withdrawal there was nothing there.  They would have no money to buy anything and society would fall over.  If you borrow money to buy things like fancy cars or high-end iPhones and you cannot pay that money back you should be ashamed of yourself.  Personal responsibility should be taken more seriously.

Note: when the so called great and the good lost heap loads of cash in the great crash of 2008, they were allowed to walk away from their debts, actually externalise them as public debt. The governments even bankrolled them with billions more, which allowed them to carry on exactly as before! 

Sounds like many teachers were living beyond their means....

 

fiscal mismanagement by those are suppose to be role models for students....

 

talking only 35k US for most....just take it out of their pension plans....

 

why were they borrowing so late in their life? Called consumerism to have the latest gadgets and vehicles...

 

 

4 hours ago, kannot said:

must be tough on your teachers salary eh

exactly, agree with you 100%, no one forced them to take the loan , and buy the new car !

9 minutes ago, JayBird said:

why do so many teachers need to borrow so much money? What is the underlying cause?

A very good question, to which I honestly don't have an answer.  Certainly, at the start of their career they are paid a pittance.  Teaching has always been a poor yet noble profession, and it was always the way to make their lives easier by receiving some recompense from the public purse by way of compensation for a long career in the public service.  This Frankenstein monster of a scheme, seems to have been constructed along those lines, but instead has been converted to the worst possible loan scheme.

 

Teachers, in particular, appear to top the 'mug list'. When one goes in to business- any business- one has to learn what profit and loss means.  Public sector workers simply seem to remain clueless most of their lives, teachers even more so.  I met many that seem to rather over inflate their worth, while expecting to be provided with all good things as a matter of right.

 

I would like to add my own question: why is it that those who most fervently advocate a life of prudence and frugality, are the least likely to follow that life themselves?

It all gets back to the lending criteria the banks have in Thailand They are so slack even a 10 year kid could get a loan. So really the bank should blame themselves lending money to people who could not pay back that  amount. That is asking for trouble. Just my imagination This would the lending criteria of a bank in Thailand

 

1/ Are you Thai or Alien?

 

2/ Are u buddist

 

3/ You have nice smile

 

4/Oh have you job ( not important)

 

5/ Length of  Loan  ( 100 years ok)

 

6/Need of money for what purpose ( Not important)

 

7/ Collateral ( Not important but look good on paper as we would accept living in tent)

 

Ok you pass money in bank in ten minutes after you open account with us

4 minutes ago, stropper said:

exactly, agree with you 100%, no one forced them to take the loan , and buy the new car !

hmm... there was a great deal of encouragement you can be sure of that. Pretty stupid though- most people are.

26 minutes ago, wvavin said:

It is typically the "FACE" issue of this country that resulting in such huge amount of loans. Nothing more, nothing less!

That's a factor, but nothing more imo.

4 minutes ago, Happyman58 said:

It all gets back to the lending criteria the banks have in Thailand They are so slack even a 10 year kid could get a loan. So really the bank should blame themselves lending money to people who could not pay back that  amount. That is asking for trouble. Just my imagination This would the lending criteria of a bank in Thailand

 

1/ Are you Thai or Alien?

 

2/ Are u buddist

 

3/ You have nice smile

 

4/Oh have you job ( not important)

 

5/ Length of  Loan  ( 100 years ok)

 

6/Need of money for what purpose ( Not important)

 

7/ Collateral ( Not important but look good on paper as we would accept living in tent)

 

Ok you pass money in bank in ten minutes after you open account with us

its true col  they are so slack here and when the sh   it hits the wall they start crying about it They have to learn to stop trying to appease everyone and say no to a loan

My Mrs is a chef and very fiscally astute would never borrow anything...

 

Today's lesson should have married a dumb teacher!

It's the culture, I have lent money to many Thai's, only got some back one time, and that was only part of that which was owed.

Don't lend no more!

24 minutes ago, JayBird said:

why do so many teachers need to borrow so much money? What is the underlying cause?

Prestige. Rot-benz is a must. Drivning around in a toyota is humiliating.

 

But there's a simple solution to all this. Call the fugtive lady in London,  she will arrange for the government to take care of all the debts, and perhaps increase the loans so the spending can increase. It's great for the economy!

13 minutes ago, mommysboy said:

 

I would like to add my own question: why is it that those who most fervently advocate a life of prudence and frugality, are the least likely to follow that life themselves?

The psychology of projection is so alive and kicking in Thailand , that the whole society seems to be sitting on its foundation.

So basically projecting the frugality onto others in order to avoid the subject at home. I think it is one area of psychology that you could sit for hours and take the society apart one bit at a time and discuss around  this topic.

2 minutes ago, Chassa said:

It's the culture, I have lent money to many Thai's, only got some back one time, and that was only part of that which was owed.

Don't lend no more!

Good case My wife Miss Kind heart she is lent 50,000 to her brother mind you and never ever got it back and he is an accountant. He tried again later or his wife did and lucky i answered the phone Maybe the reason they dont come around here anymore

2 hours ago, Bob12345 said:

And what if all people in Thailand are unable to repay their debts?

According to the Center for Economic and Business Forecasting (CEBF) of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, that might seem to be a good thing for the Thai economy.

CEBF Director Dr. Thanawat Polvichai (April 2017): "despite the increase in household debt on the part of Thai workers, more expenditures went towards durable goods, such as cars, motorcycles, and homes."

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/980630-thai-household-debt-rises-to-8-year-high/?utm_source=newsletter-20170428-1335&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

With regard to unregulated debt, Prayut said in December 2017 that he is satisfied with progress in the government’s efforts to address unregulated debt problem.

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/pm-satisfied-progress-addressing-unregulated-debt-problem/

 

10 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

According to the Center for Economic and Business Forecasting (CEBF) of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, that might seem to be a good thing for the Thai economy.

CEBF Director Dr. Thanawat Polvichai (April 2017): "despite the increase in household debt on the part of Thai workers, more expenditures went towards durable goods, such as cars, motorcycles, and homes."

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/980630-thai-household-debt-rises-to-8-year-high/?utm_source=newsletter-20170428-1335&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

With regard to unregulated debt, Prayut said in December 2017 that he is satisfied with progress in the government’s efforts to address unregulated debt problem.

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/pm-satisfied-progress-addressing-unregulated-debt-problem/

 

House of cards?  Elephants in the room (particularly apt that one). Kicking the can down the road. 

Edited July 30, 20187 yr by mommysboy

4 hours ago, kannot said:

must be tough on your teachers salary eh

exactly, agree with you 100%, no one forced them to take the loan , and buy the new car !

It would seem that high levels of debt are required to keep levels of consumer spending up. We can presume that this has been the case for quite some time and it is beginning to show as unsustainable . The bulk of assets are held by such a small proportion of the society , there is no way they  can purchase enough to keep the economy afloat. 

There is also the aspect of it not being desirable to have a large sector of the population with spare cash as they are difficult to control. This model of society is beginning to look unsustainable , gosh who would have guessed (sarcasm).

I don't really have much time for people who borrow silly amounts of money and can't pay back. However, why not focus on debt relief for all, instead of just some of the whinging entitled sections of society like teachers/rice and rubber farmers etc.? There are many that need debt/interest relief who are just normal citizens, even those who can pay their debt repayments could probably do with it too. Unfortunately, the irresponsible sections of society like the ones spoken of here are getting to the point where the only solution to their problems is interest/debt cancellation as they have been allowed to take-the-piss for far too long...but if they did that then they would just find ways to borrow again. Sadly, the only solution in these situations is a hard line by the government on borrowers and banks alike with both needing to be made an example of as a cautionary tail for others. The top-and-tail-of-it is that the attitudes of the lenders and borrowers here (and other places) are just simply woefully wrong.

Edited July 30, 20187 yr by Sir Dude
Typos

54 minutes ago, chopin2 said:

Prestige. Rot-benz is a must. Drivning around in a toyota is humiliating.

 

When I bought my eco car, I had teachers telling me that I should have bought a Vios or better. I guess when students turn up in better cars than teachers, face is lost.

Edited July 30, 20187 yr by alien365

3 hours ago, Bob12345 said:

SOunds horrible, but it requires 1.5 million people to not repay their debts.

Whats the chance of that?

 

And what if all people in Thailand are unable to repay their debts?

The consequences will be much worse... so maybe we should forgive everybody's debt?

 Yes sound awful but it seems to be a long way off for teacher representative, and teachers, to understand that teachers must live within their means like everybody else.

 

I have regular contact with Thai teachers / professors, for many of them their sense of being special / special entitlement above normal mortals is mind blowing.

 

The worst example I've seen, a Thai professor who teaches English (very poorly*) at a Thai uni just outside Bkk, he has a driver and a man on a motor cycle, in uniform, travelling in front of his car. All coordinated for the MC and car to stop, MC guy quickly runs and gets in position to bow and wai and open the back door of the car for the professor to step out. Car gets left where it is (often blocking other cars) whilst the driver walks behind the professor to carry his bag into the office.

 

There are many other Thai teachers in this guys family, some admire his situation: big car, driver, door opener etc., other say rude things to him and ridicule him in front of other family members.

 

And the professor is a member of the mob who are deep in debt and is insistent that the gov't., should cancel all teacher debts. 

 

(* has very few students because of his past poor performance, students register to attend English classes with other professors.) 

 

Teachers are the very foundation of a great society. They deserve good salaries. And they require housing and cars. The fact that they took 4 million baht to purchase a home and a new car is not a sin. If the government wants to find a solution, and treat these people with the honor and dignity they deserve, how about reducing their interest rates from the heinous levels they charge here, to something affordable like 2-3%? It would cost them nothing, as that is less than the rate currently being paid by the banks for deposits and less than the fed rate. 

 

This administration loves to talk, but when it comes to solutions that benefit the average man and women, they are woefully short on them.

5 hours ago, humbug said:

there was a better article on Sunday from another 'paper'

 

1.2 trillion in debts 

450 billion baht to Government Savings Bank

800 billion baht to Co-op funds

thats 3 million baht per teacher in debt 

 

scheme was a way around normal 'loan' procedure ie no 'credit checks' etc just had to be a 'member of funeral fund' which was free to join

 

then the Government Savings Bank and Co-o funds ' had' to loan and offer up to 3 million over 30 years

 

i would bet this practice using weird names to be members to get around normal 'loan' practices has been going on for decades for all civil servants. Just that the teachers were among the poorest and more liable for bad debts.

 

its nothing more than bribery to keep civil servants onside and back the 'status quo' ie junta/yellow shirts

 

the Government Savings Bank is not a normal bank listed on the Stock Exchange. It can easily be pillaged by the junta/yellow over decades of this crew being mostly in power

 

a more recent example of pillaging a bank was 10 years ago the Thai military bank which had to be bailed out with investment from an overseas bank and taxpayers money. No surprises for whom was to blame for that mess. 

 

Yes if you own 100.000 Baht to the bank you have problem....if you own 1 billion baht to the bank...the bank has a problem

What the governments need to do is to create laws to stop banks and other lending institutions from engaging in high-risk, predatory lending practices.  Now they lend to people who don't have the ability to repay loans that they are offered by these lenders.  Banks and lenders have a fiduciary responsibility NOT to offer loans to those who are over-extended or will be unable to service the debt in the future.  This is a problem that greedy lenders created all by themselves, ie, greed trumps risk management.  That's a flawed business model.  So lenders screw up, over-extend their own balance sheets by issuing high-risk loan, and them demand that the governments become their 'enforcers'.  Sound about like mafia tactics. 

I'm sorry but a Debit is a bebit do people seriously think lets borrow some money and not have too pay it back.

Every person all around the world if they borrow money has to pay it back 

Surly these teaches honestly don't think that they don't have a free ride should have been paying it while working.

I'm amazed the fund waited so long 

 

What a lot of greedy sods they are , Getting a loan and when the interest is going up (everyone has that problem) they Cry to the Government .If the government is going to help them then the Rest of the Country will be going to Cry to the Government for Help too.They must be like everyone else,,, Pay Back What you Owe or go to Jail ,,,

the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac of Thailand!!!!!