2 weeks Ago
The Bank of Thailand has extended the registration deadline for the "You Fight, We Help" debt relief programme, aimed at supporting vulnerable borrowers amid growing uncertainty and slower economic growth. The central bank, Finance Ministry, National Economic and Social Development Council, commercial banks, financial institutions, and non-bank lenders, which are all collaborating in the scheme, have agreed to extend the registration deadline from April 30 to June 30, 2025, due to the ongoing economic malaise. The central bank said a significant number of vulnerable borrowers continue to struggle with debt repayment, while many fragile borrowers remain interested in joining the programme.
Between Dec 12, 2024 and April 12, 2025, 1.3 million borrowers with 1.6 million loan accounts registered to join the You Fight, We Help programme.
Some 19 million borrowers with a total outstanding loan balance of 890 billion baht are qualified for debt restructuring under the scheme. As of April 15 this year, 530,000 qualified borrowers, or 27% of the total borrowers qualified to participate in the scheme, had registered for the programme. These participants accounted for 43% of the total outstanding loans among all qualified borrowers, amounting to 385 billion baht.
In its 2024 Thailand Financial Stability Assessment, the central bank reported the country's household debt-to-GDP ratio remains high, though it has declined as part of the ongoing debt deleveraging process. This decline helps to mitigate financial stability risks in the long term. Last year, Thailand's household debt-to-GDP ratio was 88.
4%, down from a peak of 95.5% in 2021. Despite this drop, the country's household debt ratio remains high compared with its regional peers.
The decline in the ratio was primarily driven by a decrease in new loans and a slowdown in debt accumulation that outpaced the gradual recovery in economic growth, noted the report. As a consequence, vulnerable households with a high debt burden have reduced access to credit and greater liquidity constraints in covering daily expenses. An appropriate level of debt burden supports sustainable economic growth and strengthens households' resilience to future uncertainties, particularly in terms of shocks that could significantly affect household incomes, noted the central bank report.
.
