Thais are sinking deeply into debt

[webfact]

File photo for reference only

Thai people are burdened with high household debt. For many of them, the burden starts early and can last a lifetime. Some young adults, in particular, have racked up massive credit card debt and do not have the ability to pay it off. The Thai workforce is also struggling with rising debt, with their debt levels this year the highest in the past 14 years. Worse still, many older adults are retiring buried in debt and carrying a great amount of it.

 

Thailand has among the highest household debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratios in Asia, behind only South Korea and Hong Kong, according to a Bank for International Settlements ranking.

 

Levels of Thai household debt escalated between 2010 and 2020, with the household debt to GDP ratiojumping from 60% in 2010 to 90% in 2020, according to the Bank of Thailand (BoT).

 

In the first quarter of 2023, Thai household debt hit 16 trillion baht, accounting for 90.6% of the country’s GDP, compared to 86.9% in the fourth quarter of 2022. The surge was due to both increases in debt and a redefinition of national household debt by the Thai central bank to include student loans, agricultural cooperative loans, housing loans and microfinance offered by both existing banks and non-banks.

 

By Thai PBS World Feature Desk

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thais-are-sinking-deeply-into-debt/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2023-07-24

 

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[Skipalongcassidy]

"The surge was due to both increases in debt and a redefinition of national household debt by the Thai central bank to include  microfinance offered by both existing banks and non-banks".

 

Read... loan sharks

[Cake Monster]

And of that 90.6  % of GDP Loans, only roughly 20 % are secured

The rest are potentially very toxic Loans that are unsecured, and are for Cars , Motorcycles , white goods Etc

A truly scary situation, as the amount is staggering

[Lacessit]

4 minutes ago, Cake Monster said:

And of that 90.6  % of GDP Loans, only roughly 20 % are secured

The rest are potentially very toxic Loans that are unsecured, and are for Cars , Motorcycles , white goods Etc

A truly scary situation, as the amount is staggering

What I don't understand is how used car values can hold up very well under obvious oversupply. Every car yard I see in CM or CR is full of unsold vehicles.

[2baht]

37 minutes ago, webfact said:

The surge was due to both increases in debt and a redefinition of national household debt by the Thai central bank to include student loans, agricultural cooperative loans, housing loans and microfinance offered by both existing banks and non-banks.

Well......................let's "borrow" some more! 

[Furioso]

Until last year, I had not been to Thailand since 2010. Now that I'm back I can see the huge difference,

 

Thai's really seem much, much unhappier, it's obvious they are struggling mightily. 

[mfd101]

Only the lending institutions (ie banks) can correct the situation over time by tightening their lending rules. For example, here in Isaan not lending to people who have no or no regular income ...

 

In a culture where poor people are the majority and the middle class is small and weak, failure to think about tomorrow or the next day let alone next year is the norm. Take the money and run is the basic attitude.

[bob smith]

....'thats the way, uh huh uh huh, they like it, uh huh uh huh.'

 

they see nothing wrong going into debt to have the latest iphone or chinese EV.

 

who cares if they go bankrupt when their friends think they are 'cool' and they can post all about it on insta.

 

TIT.

[jacko45k]

27 minutes ago, 2baht said:

Well......................let's "borrow" some more! 

So they work for the bank these guys who come round once a week and refuse to take off their motorcycle helmets?

[connda]

It should read, "Predatory Thai lending institutions prey on Thai citizenry."

Credit should not legally be extended to those who are going to be unable to repay.  This is what non-existence regulators are for - to stop institutional predation by banks, corporations, and financial institutions.

 

[2baht]

14 minutes ago, connda said:

This is what non-existence regulators are for - to stop institutional predation by banks, corporations, and financial institutions.

There was a time when people robbed banks, now, banks rob people!

[worgeordie]

It's not just Thailand , it seems the whole World is mired in debt,

Cash used to be king , now it seems to be going out of fashion,

let them that's owed ...worry , it's an I want it and I want it now

society , every time a new iPhone comes out , up goes the debt.

 

The low interest rates of the last 10 + years did not help,they

must have thought it would go on forever ,now the rates have

(not so much here ) gone up ,people are finding their mortgages

go through the roof ,

 

regards worgeordie

[ikke1959]

They want to be rich, and live like rich already, but are too lazy to start working. Try to find somebody for whatever and but the payment is always too low or the work is too less to do it. They prefer to do nothing and borrow from family and friends than earn a bit. They only want to have big money..There is start for the solution. 

[Lacessit]

11 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

It's not just Thailand , it seems the whole World is mired in debt,

Cash used to be king , now it seems to be going out of fashion,

let them that's owed ...worry , it's an I want it and I want it now

society , every time a new iPhone comes out , up goes the debt.

 

The low interest rates of the last 10 + years did not help,they

must have thought it would go on forever ,now the rates have

(not so much here ) gone up ,people are finding their mortgages

go through the roof ,

 

regards worgeordie

 I have always been content to buy secondhand, or equipment that has proven its reliability. Others can be the lab rats for new stuff.

[Pouatchee]

tell that to the thais with a benz, a fortuner, 2 condos and a mansion. those who think thailand is a 3rd world country, or that westerners are richer need a good pair of spectacles to enjoy watching this spectacle

[ThailandRyan]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Some young adults, in particular, have racked up massive credit card debt and do not have the ability to pay it off.

Why were they given cards and loans if they did not have the ability to repay said cards and loans. Shameful....

[ikke1959]

57 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Why were they given cards and loans if they did not have the ability to repay said cards and loans. Shameful....

Not only that, they buy cars, motorcycles without any money but they have to pay monthly sometimes for 20 years..... and even to kids without a drivers license or with in income that they even can't rent a house with.

[SoilSpoil]

1 hour ago, Pouatchee said:

tell that to the thais with a benz, a fortuner, 2 condos and a mansion. those who think thailand is a 3rd world country, or that westerners are richer need a good pair of spectacles to enjoy watching this spectacle

Given the income distribution, corrupted governance, poor educational standards, lack of innovation, the absence of moral fiber and high pollution levels nationwide, you must be blind to not call Thailand a 3rd world country.

[ozz1]

Unfortunately its a thai thing look I have big money new car new phone but it all has to be paid back and they don't seem to budget themselves or care as long as I look good it's a shame really because they are great people but naive

[Tropicalevo]

Prayut's military legacy - a government that can only spend and is unable to run a country for the people.

Sadly it will be around for a long time.

[ExpatOilWorker]

3 hours ago, Cake Monster said:

And of that 90.6  % of GDP Loans, only roughly 20 % are secured

The rest are potentially very toxic Loans that are unsecured, and are for Cars , Motorcycles , white goods Etc

A truly scary situation, as the amount is staggering

On top of that the debt is not equally distributed. Some, rich people,  are completely debt free while others owe 5-10 × their annual income. Teachers and many government employees are among the latter group. 

[Kwasaki]

To get a Thai bank credit card I thought Thais had to have money in the bank to cover the use of the credit card.

[ThailandRyan]

22 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

To get a Thai bank credit card I thought Thais had to have money in the bank to cover the use of the credit card.

Nah, that's only us foreigners without a work permit.....oh you were being sarcastic...got it.

[JonnyF]

19 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

To get a Thai bank credit card I thought Thais had to have money in the bank to cover the use of the credit card.

In my experience it is only foreigners who need the money in the bank to cover the card. I don't think it applies now as I have 2 KTC credit cards in my name with no associated KTB bank account (although it was applied for through my employer's HR department so that might be the reason).

 

A few years ago it was double the limit of the card that had to be held in a bank account (this was with Bangkok Bank).

 

This policy does not appear to apply to Thai nationals. Hence the huge debts.

[bkk6060]

Sinking? Seems to me they are sunk.

15 to 20k a month for rent, car, clothes, food, parties. Trying to live a western lifestyle Bangkok people may be the biggest debtors in Asia.

[Gknrd]

4 hours ago, Cake Monster said:

And of that 90.6  % of GDP Loans, only roughly 20 % are secured

The rest are potentially very toxic Loans that are unsecured, and are for Cars , Motorcycles , white goods Etc

A truly scary situation, as the amount is staggering

same thing in the US, banks are in trouble.

[sammieuk1]

Adding to the sinking there is no more room for fresh embezzlers we are at capacity ???? 

[youngster30uk]

5 hours ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

"The surge was due to both increases in debt and a redefinition of national household debt by the Thai central bank to include  microfinance offered by both existing banks and non-banks".

 

Read... loan sharks

Not Necessarily, it is scarily easy for Police officers and teachers to get legitimate loans, pretty much irrespective of how much debt they already have. Police and teachers in thailand are the 2 groups with the highest amount of debt per capita

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Thai people are burdened with high household debt. For many of them, the burden starts early and can last a lifetime. Some young adults, in particular, have racked up massive credit card debt and do not have the ability to pay it off. The Thai workforce is also struggling with rising debt, with their debt levels this year the highest in the past 14 years. Worse still, many older adults are retiring buried in debt and carrying a great amount of it.

Get off your backsides, get onto the streets and demand change...

[IamNoone88]

The unofficial loan market fills a void - the lending gap - from the banks when individuals do not qualify for a loan. Generally fast and expensive they offer instant gratification for those needing quick money. The banks maybe conservative but the lending requirements are not easy to fulfill. Thus the trap is high cost of borrowing outside of the banking system.