GHB now ready to extend 30- billion baht low rate loan for civil servants to buy homes

[rooster59]

GHB now ready to extend 30- billion baht low rate loan for civil servants to buy homes

BANGKOK: The Government Housing Bank is now ready to introduce low interest home loans for civil servants in the country.

Accordingly to Mr Wisut Sri-Suphan, the deputy fnance minister, the GHB will be introducing new low interest home loans for civil servants under the ‘Homes for Civil Servants’ campaign.

A budget of 30 billion baht has been set aside for the purpose of helping low earning civil servants and state enterprise employees to buy homes.

The most vital criteria that has been specified for approval of loan applicants is that they must have, at minimum, sufficient means to make the monthly installment payments which means that they must have at least 11,000 baht of their income left after deducting all expenses.

Under this campaign, the interest rates that will be charged will be lower than market rates.

Interest rates for the first 1 – 4 years will be at minus 3.5% MRR (minimum retail rate) or 3.25% per year for a maximum of 30 years.

Applications can be made now until December 30 of this year.

Loans will be provided for the purpose of buying, building, expansion, repairs, mortgage repayment or purchasing land or non-performing assets (NPA) seized by the Government Housing Bank.

These loans will also cover refinancing and the purchase of equipment or tools to be used for home construction or repairs.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/ghb-now-ready-extend-30-billion-baht-low-rate-loan-civil-servants-buy-homes/

-- Thai PBS 2016-07-02

[MZurf]

Populist policies? Nooooooooo, only Thaksin did that...

[Hawk]

Buying votes.

[Caveat Emptor]

More big ticket loans to be defaulted on ? Give it a while then the hand wringing will start.

[robblok]

Populist policies? Nooooooooo, only Thaksin did that...

Great finally those that pay real taxes get a benefit instead of rewarding those that don't pay taxes at all.

And of course its populist but at least they have paid taxes. (civil servants are on wages and income tax is with held)

Now farmers on the other hand

and 30 billion at 3,5% is around 1 billion.. what did the rice program cost again 500 billion..

[bobmac10]

Populist policies? Nooooooooo, only Thaksin did that...

Great finally those that pay real taxes get a benefit instead of rewarding those that don't pay taxes at all.

And of course its populist but at least they have paid taxes. (civil servants are on wages and income tax is with held)

Now farmers on the other hand

and 30 billion at 3,5% is around 1 billion.. what did the rice program cost again 500 billion..

Everyone knows the yellow shirts that occupied the airport were all public servants given the time off work to go do what they were told to do.

So this is just to shore up their support for next time.

My own personal experience with Thai government employees is that a majority are lazy, arrogant, supercillious and careless.

[MZurf]

Populist policies? Nooooooooo, only Thaksin did that...

Great finally those that pay real taxes get a benefit instead of rewarding those that don't pay taxes at all.

And of course its populist but at least they have paid taxes. (civil servants are on wages and income tax is with held)

Now farmers on the other hand

and 30 billion at 3,5% is around 1 billion.. what did the rice program cost again 500 billion..

I don't know what it cost. I know that the figure 500 billion is thrown around by the present junta, so has as much credibility as...well, the "PM". Who knows, maybe it cost that much. But that doesn't excuse what the junta does today.

The "but, but, but..Thaksin!" argument has been done to death and you really should find other arguments to justify the actions of the junta.

[heybruce]

Buying votes.

Buying the support of the civil service. That way when they claim victory on the referendum, regardless of the actual outcome, they will have the support of all levels of the unelected government.

Of course I wouldn't be surprised if these low interest loans for "low earning civil servants" benefit some well-off officials as also.

[WhizBang]

Buying votes.

Hardly. This government came to power without a single vote being cast (or bought).

[waldroj]

Whilst there is nothing wrong with this scheme per se, it does serve to demonstrate that civil servants in Thailand enjoy a number of benefits that ordinary working Thais are not entitled to.

These include: job security; perceived prestige associated with rank, promotion, and length of service; access to the Civil Servant Medical Benefit Scheme providing health care benefits to them and their families; and, a Government Pension Fund on retirement.

This may in part explain why there is such strong competition for a civil service position.

Despite reportedly low civil service salaries, many people willingly pay (and receive) significant amounts of “tea money” to facilitate entry into it, and to “buy” promotions. This, in turn, only helps to foster a culture of corruption within the civil service.

From what I could find, there are around 1.1 million civil servants in Thailand (http://www.ocsc.go.th/ocsc/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=109&Itemid=248), including teachers, ordinary civil servants, police, and other groups (but, not the military). Meanwhile, according to Trading Economics (http://www.tradingeconomics.com/thailand/employed-persons), the number of employed persons in Thailand in 2016 is 37.2 million.

So, roughly 3% of the Thai workforce will get access to an additional benefit, and most of the other 97% will miss out.

I was surprised by these figures! I had expected the proportion of civil servants in Thailand to be much higher.

While the above figures clearly indicate that the GHB initiative can hardly be called a populist policy, these types of initiatives (for civil servants only) benefit a select few, and do nothing to reduce corruption (instead, it could arguably be seen as helping to perpetuate it).

[elgordo38]

Populist policies? Nooooooooo, only Thaksin did that...

I am sure that they can make the payments as they seem to get better than the average wage superior benefits including medical and pensions. They are about half way up the pecking order. What is really lacking is a better pension for older seniors ah well back to the sub payments.

[Eric Loh]

Populist policies? Nooooooooo, only Thaksin did that...

Great finally those that pay real taxes get a benefit instead of rewarding those that don't pay taxes at all.

And of course its populist but at least they have paid taxes. (civil servants are on wages and income tax is with held)

Now farmers on the other hand

and 30 billion at 3,5% is around 1 billion.. what did the rice program cost again 500 billion..

Allow me to expand on your limited knowledge of the different type of taxes. They do include VAT, stamp duties and even that bottle of farmer's favourite Lao Khao. Everyone pay tax one form or the other.

[Doc46]

Populist policies? Nooooooooo, only Thaksin did that...

Great finally those that pay real taxes get a benefit instead of rewarding those that don't pay taxes at all.

And of course its populist but at least they have paid taxes. (civil servants are on wages and income tax is with held)

Now farmers on the other hand

and 30 billion at 3,5% is around 1 billion.. what did the rice program cost again 500 billion..

Allow me to expand on your limited knowledge of the different type of taxes. They do include VAT, stamp duties and even that bottle of farmer's favourite Lao Khao. Everyone pay tax one form or the other.

It's about Income tax,,,,, you limited tax Agent,,,,The rest is just a Government Ripoff,,,,

[pookiki]

Whilst there is nothing wrong with this scheme per se, it does serve to demonstrate that civil servants in Thailand enjoy a number of benefits that ordinary working Thais are not entitled to.

These include: job security; perceived prestige associated with rank, promotion, and length of service; access to the Civil Servant Medical Benefit Scheme providing health care benefits to them and their families; and, a Government Pension Fund on retirement.

This may in part explain why there is such strong competition for a civil service position.

Despite reportedly low civil service salaries, many people willingly pay (and receive) significant amounts of “tea money” to facilitate entry into it, and to “buy” promotions. This, in turn, only helps to foster a culture of corruption within the civil service.

From what I could find, there are around 1.1 million civil servants in Thailand (http://www.ocsc.go.th/ocsc/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=109&Itemid=248), including teachers, ordinary civil servants, police, and other groups (but, not the military). Meanwhile, according to Trading Economics (http://www.tradingeconomics.com/thailand/employed-persons), the number of employed persons in Thailand in 2016 is 37.2 million.

So, roughly 3% of the Thai workforce will get access to an additional benefit, and most of the other 97% will miss out.

I was surprised by these figures! I had expected the proportion of civil servants in Thailand to be much higher.

While the above figures clearly indicate that the GHB initiative can hardly be called a populist policy, these types of initiatives (for civil servants only) benefit a select few, and do nothing to reduce corruption (instead, it could arguably be seen as helping to perpetuate it).

The government stats on the number of civil servants compared to the private sector seem unrealistically low. See for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_public_sector that shows that civil servants comprised 19.4% of the total workforce. This seems to be much more realistic. As for the rest of your conclusions, I totally agree.

[gandalf12]

Populist policies? Nooooooooo, only Thaksin did that...

Great finally those that pay real taxes get a benefit instead of rewarding those that don't pay taxes at all.

And of course its populist but at least they have paid taxes. (civil servants are on wages and income tax is with held)

Now farmers on the other hand

and 30 billion at 3,5% is around 1 billion.. what did the rice program cost again 500 billion..

I don't understand why you think people in this country don't pay taxes they do. Ever heard of VAT? What do you think that is, a place were they brew beer?

[gyrosman]

Free money, new pick-up and motorbikes and don't forget those I-Phones for the family. Repayment plan

[Berty100]

Whilst there is nothing wrong with this scheme per se, it does serve to demonstrate that civil servants in Thailand enjoy a number of benefits that ordinary working Thais are not entitled to.

These include: job security; perceived prestige associated with rank, promotion, and length of service; access to the Civil Servant Medical Benefit Scheme providing health care benefits to them and their families; and, a Government Pension Fund on retirement.

This may in part explain why there is such strong competition for a civil service position.

Despite reportedly low civil service salaries, many people willingly pay (and receive) significant amounts of “tea money” to facilitate entry into it, and to “buy” promotions. This, in turn, only helps to foster a culture of corruption within the civil service.

From what I could find, there are around 1.1 million civil servants in Thailand (http://www.ocsc.go.th/ocsc/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=109&Itemid=248), including teachers, ordinary civil servants, police, and other groups (but, not the military). Meanwhile, according to Trading Economics (http://www.tradingeconomics.com/thailand/employed-persons), the number of employed persons in Thailand in 2016 is 37.2 million.

So, roughly 3% of the Thai workforce will get access to an additional benefit, and most of the other 97% will miss out.

I was surprised by these figures! I had expected the proportion of civil servants in Thailand to be much higher.

While the above figures clearly indicate that the GHB initiative can hardly be called a populist policy, these types of initiatives (for civil servants only) benefit a select few, and do nothing to reduce corruption (instead, it could arguably be seen as helping to perpetuate it).

37.2 million people employed out of a population roughly 65 million people, including elderly, children and self employed?

That is great, but could it be that the real figure is 3.72 Million?

Edited July 2, 2016 by Berty100

[gyrosman]

Who needs hot water for a shower when you have a trash can full of icy water, I need my I-Phone 4g's.

[NCC1701A]

will the Thai government be selling these sub-prime mortgages as toxic securities on the SET?

[Somtamnication]

Sounds like they are getting ready for the referendum.

[Brer Fox]

Is there anyone naive enough to believe this 30 billion baht has been set aside for the purpose of helping low earning civil servants. One can bet that the top brass are already filling out their application forms for loans which will of course get top priority approval.

Low earners will be at the end of the queue and will remain there until it has all been sucked up by the big boys.

[connda]

Didn't learn about sub-prime loans from the 2008 banking fiasco in the US 'eh?

[nahkit]

Populist policies? Nooooooooo, only Thaksin did that...

Great finally those that pay real taxes get a benefit instead of rewarding those that don't pay taxes at all.

And of course its populist but at least they have paid taxes. (civil servants are on wages and income tax is with held)

Now farmers on the other hand

and 30 billion at 3,5% is around 1 billion.. what did the rice program cost again 500 billion..

You don't think that people who work for Lotus, Big C, Makro, Honda, AIS and all the other big companies in Thailand pay taxes?

I'm sure they'll be thrilled to know that their taxes are being used to subsidise government workers instead of being used to improve education or healthcare.

[greenchair]

Didn't learn about sub-prime loans from the 2008 banking fiasco in the US 'eh?

Yes, and I have looked at one of these low income mortgages.

The town house was around 1.5 million. But after paying monthly installments for 30 years, even with the low interest, the cost was about 3.5 million. This is a scam that rely on the naivety of the Thai people not understanding the true value of how much they will pay over 30 years. I imagine ( optimistically ) after 15 years the owner might calculate the full payment and realise the house is never going to be worth what he is paying for it and walk away.

[mihalis]

Populist policies? Nooooooooo, only Thaksin did that...

Great finally those that pay real taxes get a benefit instead of rewarding those that don't pay taxes at all.

And of course its populist but at least they have paid taxes. (civil servants are on wages and income tax is with held)

Now farmers on the other hand

and 30 billion at 3,5% is around 1 billion.. what did the rice program cost again 500 billion..

I don't understand why you think people in this country don't pay taxes they do. Ever heard of VAT? What do you think that is, a place were they brew beer?

Because farangs like him know it all ? Only bitter Thai haters would think this !

[williamgeorgeallen]

they should start companies called freddie mack and fanny may to administer these loans and give them out to everyone, even those who cant afford them. wait, wait. i heard this story before.

[robblok]

Populist policies? Nooooooooo, only Thaksin did that...

Great finally those that pay real taxes get a benefit instead of rewarding those that don't pay taxes at all.

And of course its populist but at least they have paid taxes. (civil servants are on wages and income tax is with held)

Now farmers on the other hand

and 30 billion at 3,5% is around 1 billion.. what did the rice program cost again 500 billion..

I don't know what it cost. I know that the figure 500 billion is thrown around by the present junta, so has as much credibility as...well, the "PM". Who knows, maybe it cost that much. But that doesn't excuse what the junta does today.

The "but, but, but..Thaksin!" argument has been done to death and you really should find other arguments to justify the actions of the junta.

Yea yea id try to discredit it too.. certainly if you see the difference between the two amounts. I actually find it a good idea to give something back to those actually paying taxes.

[robblok]

Populist policies? Nooooooooo, only Thaksin did that...

Great finally those that pay real taxes get a benefit instead of rewarding those that don't pay taxes at all.

And of course its populist but at least they have paid taxes. (civil servants are on wages and income tax is with held)

Now farmers on the other hand

and 30 billion at 3,5% is around 1 billion.. what did the rice program cost again 500 billion..

Everyone knows the yellow shirts that occupied the airport were all public servants given the time off work to go do what they were told to do.

So this is just to shore up their support for next time.

My own personal experience with Thai government employees is that a majority are lazy, arrogant, supercillious and careless.

And look at the difference in payout they need to protests.. 500billion to buy the farmers and 1 billion to buy then. Guess its clear who does the most vote buying.

[MZurf]

Populist policies? Nooooooooo, only Thaksin did that...

Great finally those that pay real taxes get a benefit instead of rewarding those that don't pay taxes at all.

And of course its populist but at least they have paid taxes. (civil servants are on wages and income tax is with held)

Now farmers on the other hand

and 30 billion at 3,5% is around 1 billion.. what did the rice program cost again 500 billion..

Everyone knows the yellow shirts that occupied the airport were all public servants given the time off work to go do what they were told to do.

So this is just to shore up their support for next time.

My own personal experience with Thai government employees is that a majority are lazy, arrogant, supercillious and careless.

And look at the difference in payout they need to protests.. 500billion to buy the farmers and 1 billion to buy then. Guess its clear who does the most vote buying.

So that makes it OK then.

[newatthis]

"A budget of 30 billion baht has been set aside for the purpose of helping low earning civil servants and state enterprise employees to buy homes.

The most vital criteria that has been specified for approval of loan applicants is that they must have, at minimum, sufficient means to make the monthly installment payments which means that they must have at least 11,000 baht of their income left after deducting all expenses."

11,000 baht left after deducting all expenses.....personally, I wouldn't call that low earning.