88% of Thailand bank accounts have less than 50,000 THB

[webfact]

 

According to the Bank of Thailand (BOT), total deposits in commercial banks increased 4.3% to 16.897 trillion baht in 2017. It said that the increase was caused by the BOT raising its policy rate, which caused commercial banks to raise their lending and deposit rates in response.

Bangkok account holders lead the provincial rankings with total deposits of 10.58 trillion baht.

 

The following top 10 provinces are listed by the BOT for total deposits in commercial banks:

 

10.58 trillion baht in Bangkok

 

Nonthaburi, 586.02 billion

 

: 583.762 billion Samut Prakan

 

551.649 billion Chonburi

 

345.482 billion – Pathum Thani

 

– 291.601 billion for Chiang Mai

 

– 230.548 billion for Nakhon Pathom

 

196.036 billion Samut Sakhon

 

– 194.187 billion Songkhla

 

190.014 billion Rayong

 

Full story: https://bangkokone.news/88-of-thail-bank-accounts-have-less-than-50000-thb/

 

-- © Copyright BANGKOK ONE NEWS 2023-03-08

 

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[ezzra]

Interesting bit of information, i thought that Thai people would have more in their accounts seeing the high standards of living and spending i witnessed for many years.

[bkk6060]

Yes, and I bet most of their debt is above 50,000 probably just with their credit cards.

 

[TheAppletons]

From the OP:

 

"Among the savings accounts, 1,023 had more than 500 million baht, while 98.52 million had less than 50,000 baht."

 

Wealth distribution in Thailand, in a nutshell.

 

 

[VinnieK]

12 minutes ago, TheAppletons said:

From the OP:

 

"Among the savings accounts, 1,023 had more than 500 million baht, while 98.52 million had less than 50,000 baht."

 

Wealth distribution in Thailand, in a nutshell.

 

 

Money burns a hole in Thai pockets.

Only the very few can manage it correctly.

On another tack...

These spendthrift dumba$$es will take down the banking system one day.

I hope I'm not around when it happens????

 

[Enoon]

18 minutes ago, TheAppletons said:

From the OP:

 

"Among the savings accounts, 1,023 had more than 500 million baht, while 98.52 million had less than 50,000 baht."

 

Wealth distribution in Thailand, in a nutshell.

 

 

Number games:

 

Approx. 500,000 people have two savings accounts, each account holding more than 500,000,000 baht.

Approx. 47,000,000 people have two savings accounts, each account holding less than 50,000baht.

The rest of the population have **** all.

 

 

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, ezzra said:

Interesting bit of information, i thought that Thai people would have more in their accounts seeing the high standards of living and spending i witnessed for many years.

Hence the high household debt, it's not money in the bank.

It's borrowed and spent.

Only the elite have bulging bank balances.

[HuskerDo2]

It's like that everywhere. In the US they just hit a record with $930 BILLION in credit card debit. Young people aren't responsible these days like their parents and grandparents. These days people buy on credit whenever they "want" something. In the past, frugal people would only buy (with cash) what they "needed" and were never in debt.

 

It's just the younger generation not being responsible while they walk around staring at their I-Phones sipping their Starbucks.

[ikke1959]

That is why I don't keep my money in Thailand... Very dangerous system...High debts and low savings....And everybody is being urged to spend to improve the economy......But what will happen if everybody has no money anymore but only debts??? The system will collapse exept the few with extreem a lot of money.. but probably they have more assets too abroad.

[nigelforbes]

12 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

That is why I don't keep my money in Thailand... Very dangerous system...High debts and low savings....And everybody is being urged to spend to improve the economy......But what will happen if everybody has no money anymore but only debts??? The system will collapse exept the few with extreem a lot of money.. but probably they have more assets too abroad.

Just for comparison purposes:

 

"According to a survey by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPs), around a quarter of UK adults (11.5 million people) have less than £100 in their savings account, with one in six people having no savings at all". 

 

https://www.money.co.uk/savings-accounts/savings-statistics#:~:text=Overview%3A UK savings statistics 2023,1000%2C in a savings account.

 

• 78% of Americans have a savings account
• Most Americans (22%) have $1,000 to $5,000 in savings
• 51% of Americans have $5,000 or less in savings, while 35% have $1,000 or less

https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/research/average-savings-account-balance/

 

[peter zwart]

59 minutes ago, VinnieK said:

These spendthrift dumba$$es will take down the banking system one day.

Like the American did in 2007?

[HuskerDo2]

Just now, nigelforbes said:

Just for comparison purposes:

 

"According to a survey by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPs), around a quarter of UK adults (11.5 million people) have less than £100 in their savings account, with one in six people having no savings at all". 

 

https://www.money.co.uk/savings-accounts/savings-statistics#:~:text=Overview%3A UK savings statistics 2023,1000%2C in a savings account.

 

• 78% of Americans have a savings account
• Most Americans (22%) have $1,000 to $5,000 in savings
• 51% of Americans have $5,000 or less in savings, while 35% have $1,000 or less

https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/research/average-savings-account-balance/

 

I find different stats (from the FDIC). It's all so sad that so many people are financially illiterate.........

• An estimated 4.5 percent of U.S. households (approximately 5.9 million) were “unbanked” in 2021, meaning that no one in the household had a checking or savings account at a bank or credit union.

The median transaction account balance is $5,300, according to the Federal Reserve.

 

 

• The majority of U.S. households — 98 percent — have a transaction account, such as a savings account.
• Singles and younger adults tend to have lower transaction account balances.
• Less than half of U.S. households — about 4 in 10 — said they were able to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense, like a car repair or medical bill, in January 2022.
• Meanwhile, 58 percent of adults surveyed in June 2022 said they were uneasy with their level of emergency savings.
• Most American adults — about 76 percent — have not seen an increase in their emergency savings balance over the past year.
• Slightly over half of U.S. adults have more emergency savings than they do credit card debt, as of January 2022.
• Even though nearly 3 in 5 adults are contributing at least as much as they were the previous year to retirement savings, 55 percent still say they’re behind on their retirement savings.

[nigelforbes]

1 minute ago, HuskerDo2 said:

I find different stats (from the FDIC). It's all so sad that so many people are financially illiterate.........

• An estimated 4.5 percent of U.S. households (approximately 5.9 million) were “unbanked” in 2021, meaning that no one in the household had a checking or savings account at a bank or credit union.

The median transaction account balance is $5,300, according to the Federal Reserve.

 

 

• The majority of U.S. households — 98 percent — have a transaction account, such as a savings account.
• Singles and younger adults tend to have lower transaction account balances.
• Less than half of U.S. households — about 4 in 10 — said they were able to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense, like a car repair or medical bill, in January 2022.
• Meanwhile, 58 percent of adults surveyed in June 2022 said they were uneasy with their level of emergency savings.
• Most American adults — about 76 percent — have not seen an increase in their emergency savings balance over the past year.
• Slightly over half of U.S. adults have more emergency savings than they do credit card debt, as of January 2022.
• Even though nearly 3 in 5 adults are contributing at least as much as they were the previous year to retirement savings, 55 percent still say they’re behind on their retirement savings.

Thanks. Did you have a point you wanted to make?

[KhunLA]

It is mind boggling, the financial ignorance and lack of financial preparedness of most people.   Every body seems to want 'now', on credit.   When mismanaged, means you'll never really have anything.

 

Only 2 financial rules to live by:

... don't borrow to buy something that depreciates

... if you can't pay cash, you can't afford it, wait until you can

[KhunLA]

9 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

Thanks. Did you have a point you wanted to make?

The obvious, most people, Thais & Yanks are idiots when it comes to financial planning.

[nigelforbes]

Just now, KhunLA said:

The obvious, most people, Thais & Yanks are idiots when it comes to financial planning.

I think the headline is nothing more than an attention grab, as another posters wrote, it's a numbers game. The state of those bank accounts doesn't mean much since most Thai's own multiple bank accounts and many if not most still operate on a cash basis.

 

The Consumer Debt problem is a worry and I see that BOT has a program underway to try and tackle the problem. It reminds me very much of living in Detroit in the early 1970's when the Projects were all poor blacks, they didn't have curtains on the windows but they all had brand new Caddies or Lincolns outside, all on finance and all due to be repossessed inside 6 months. It was great for the car industry, great for the economy but socially it was a disaster. Those people, like many  rural Thai's today, were limited in the scope and potential of their earnings. The same problem but a different slant on things.

[Mike Teavee]

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

Interesting bit of information, i thought that Thai people would have more in their accounts seeing the high standards of living and spending i witnessed for many years.

Don't know which country you are from but in the UK I doubt >10% of people have > £1200 in their bank account either.  

 

 

Do many people in the US have > $1400 in their checking accounts? 

 

 

 

 

 

[BananaStrong]

they say this stuff about Americans all the time....... and just go there and see a zillion houses a zillion times nicer than houses here.   Anyone with half a brain has a decent car, nice stuff, money, etc......  You might google Homelessness in America because you don't want to believe there are so many millions of people in America with cash.  Big cash.   I have millionaire (USD) friends, it's really not a big deal.  Most houses are paid off (I'm not 30) and the average house is like 600k

 

Maybe here it's the same thing:  They own a house, car, family owns another house, etc......

 

It's all about liquid assets, not money in the bank.

 

Thailand is a very cash oriented place.  I can see millions keeping cash on hand, with millions having an account and cash.

 

If someone has 50k everyday for a year, they are probably OK if a Thai.   If farang, yea, probably not.

 

Just read an article of some guy in America getting like 40 million baht and the comments were like, "Well, he can't retire so he has to work."   "That's not that much anymore."  "Good luck trying to survive on that."    LOL.

 

remember, it's ALL about the money until your health goes bad.   

It's ALL about the money until your wife leaves you.

It's ALL about the money until your last friend dies.

It's ALL about the money until you realize you never pursed that acting role!!!!  lol

[nigelforbes]

3 minutes ago, BananaStrong said:

they say this stuff about Americans all the time.......

 

Maybe they own a house, car, family owns another house, etc......

 

It's all about liquid assets, not money in the bank.

 

Thailand is a very cash oriented place.  I can see millions keeping cash on hand, with millions having an account and cash.

 

If someone has 50k everyday for a year, they are probably OK if a Thai.   If farang, yea, probably not.

 

Just read an article of some guy in America getting like 40 million baht and the comments were like, "Well, he can't retire so he has to work."   "That's not that much anymore."  "Good luck trying to survive on that."    LOL.

 

remember, it's ALL about the money until your health goes bad.   

It's ALL about the money until your wife leaves you.

It's ALL about the money until your last friend dies.

It's ALL about the money until you realize you never pursed that acting role!!!!  lol

Cash is a liquid asset.

[KhunLA]

34 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

I think the headline is nothing more than an attention grab,

As are all headlines, especially most of the silly ones on AN. 

 

Do the mass readership or population really need to know what people have in the bank ?  That info is totally irrelevant to our everyday life.

 

That 60% of Yanks stating they couldn't rustle up $1000 is a bit of a concern....

...for them.   Oh  well, sucks being them.

[nigelforbes]

1 minute ago, KhunLA said:

As are all headlines, especially most of the silly ones on AN. 

 

Do the mass readership or population really need to know what people have in the bank ?  That info is totally irrelevant to our everyday life.

I'm not sure about that. I think it's sometimes helpful, I think, to understand where your own position is relative to the population.

[bob smith]

The Thai economy is on the verge of collapse.

 

Mark my words, 12 months from now they will be in dire straits.

 

Household debt is at an all time high and foreign investors have already begun pulling their assets out of the country. The writing is on the wall for Thailand, years of backward planning and frivolous spending is about to come to a head.

All those shiny new mercs and lavish lambos are about to be replaced with bog standard nissans and fords.

 

Let this be a lesson to you, Khun Thai: 

NEVER borrow what you cannot afford to pay back!

[jacko45k]

3 minutes ago, bob smith said:

Let this be a lesson to you, Khun Thai. 

NEVER borrow what you cannot afford to pay back!! 

This appears hypocritical if coming from Western sources....plenty of debt in USA/European Countries. 

[nigelforbes]

1 minute ago, bob smith said:

The Thai economy is on the verge of collapse.

 

Mark my words, 12 months from now they will be in dire straits.

 

Household debt is at an all time high and foreign investors have already begun pulling their assets out of the country. The writing is on the wall for Thailand, years of backward planning and frivolous spending is about to come to a head.

All those shiny new mercs and lavish lambos are about to be replaced with nissans and fords.

 

Let this be a lesson to you, Khun Thai. 

NEVER borrow what you cannot afford to pay back!! 

Foreigners are repatriating assets from the SET and the Thai bond market because the Fed has indicated that the Fed Funds rate will be higher for longer. That's business as usual and is little more than hot money cash flows as investors chase yield in USD rather than THB. That said, the Baht is flavor of the year amongst investors globally so the impact is likely to be minimal.

 

Household debt is not a component of GDP and it is on the decline. It is too high but in the short term it has a positive impact on the economy. as people spend what was borrowed. Do not confuse Consumer Debt with the Thai economy, they are different things.

 

 

 

 

[KhunLA]

3 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

I'm not sure about that. I think it's sometimes helpful, I think, to understand where your own position is relative to the population.

Why ?  Info like that is only to make you feel small or large, depending what side of the scale you're on, and not useful to either.

 

I'm apparently rich, as one member pointed out recently, though having enough simply seems like common sense.   I may have hit the 1% tax bracket a couple years, but rich, I don't think so, very far from it.   Rich is hitting the 5% bracket every year.  Rich is $1 mill & no debt.

 

Comfy is just more than enough & no debt.   Comfy is good.

F'd up is not being able to rustle up $1000 if needed.

 

I'm still poor enough, that I don't even have to file taxes ????????????????????????

[BritManToo]

53 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

It is mind boggling, the financial ignorance and lack of financial preparedness of most people.   Every body seems to want 'now', on credit.   When mismanaged, means you'll never really have anything.

 

Only 2 financial rules to live by:

... don't borrow to buy something that depreciates

... if you can't pay cash, you can't afford it, wait until you can

Dinosaur thinking! 

Interest rates are lower than inflation so no point in saving. 

Money in your bank is depreciating money. 

[bob smith]

2 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

Do not confuse Consumer Debt with the Thai economy, they are different things.

No, they are not.

[nigelforbes]

6 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Dinosaur thinking! 

Interest rates are lower than inflation so no point in saving. 

Money in your bank is depreciating money. 

True that cash is a depreciating asset currently but it is also a protected asset, unlike equities and bonds which are depreciating but not protected. And cash depreciates in line with the rate of inflation, equities can depreciate in the blink of an eye and be gone for ever.

[nigelforbes]

7 minutes ago, bob smith said:

No, they are not.

No GDP model shows Consumer Debt as a component. Consumer expenditure and Consumption are elements, Government (Public) Debt is an element, private debt is not. 

 

 

[KhunLA]

15 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Dinosaur thinking! 

Interest rates are lower than inflation so no point in saving. 

Money in your bank is depreciating money. 

I say that all the time, that's why I spend it, as it's worth more today, than tomorrow.   Oops & inheritance funds are there for that.

 

Anything else, Social Security & pension, gets spent, and thankfully, that's actually hard to do some times, since a Cheap A$$ Charlie/thrifty shopper.

 

Just waiting for rainy season and those O&As.