Banking Industry in Thailand
Thai Banking System
Commercial bank business in Thailand started with the establishment of a branch of the Hongkong and
Shanghai Bank in 1888 during the modernization period of the King Chulalongkorn. In the subsequent year,
more European and business banks opened their branches, making foreign banks the dominant players in the
local banking industry. In 1906, Siam Commercial Bank became the first Thai bank to be established to
counter the dominance of foreign banks. During the World War II, most foreign banks were closed, leading
to the opening of several Thai banks to fill the gap, largely to finance trade with Asian countries. The
implementation of consecutive economic and social development plans since 1960 resulted in massive
investments in infrastructure throughout the country. This leads to the rapid expansion of bank branches in
the provinces numbering over 3,000 throughout the country now. After the war, the Royal Thai Government
adjusted a protective policy to promote the growth of Thai banks by limiting foreign bank to one branch
office. Due to this restriction, foreign banks remain relatively small players in the Thai banking industry,
concentrating mostly wholesale banking markets executing much of their business offshore.
Prior to November 1997, Thai law restricted foreign ownership and control of banks, permitting foreign
investors to hold no more than 25 percent of shares sold. This was liberalized in November 1997 to permit
100 percent foreign shareholding for a period of 10 years. After 10 years, they will not be required to divest
their shares, but if they hold more than 49 percent of shares sold they are not permitted to acquire any
additional shares.
At present, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) is responsible for all central banking functions according to the
Bank of Thailand Act. B.E. 2485 that was later amended by B.E. 2551 in order to put emphasis on BOT’s
social responsibility, to create a mechanism to guard against economic crisis, as well as to set up BOT’s
decision making process to ensure good governance and transparency in the organization. Thai banking
market comprises of 6 government banks such as Government Saving Bank, Bank for Agriculture and
Agricultural Cooperatives, Government Housing Bank, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of
Thailand, Islamic Bank of Thailand, and Export-Import Bank of Thailand.
According to the Bank of Thailand's report as of December 2008, there are 18 Thai commercial banks with
5,476 branches in Thailand. Thai commercial banks were ranked by Total Assets as below.
Name
1. Bangkok Bank
2. Krung Thai Bank
3. Kasikorn Bank
4. The Siam Commercial Bank
5. Bank of Ayudhaya
6. TMB Bank
7. Siam City Bank
8. Thanachart Bank
9. Standard Chartered Bank (Thai)
10. United Overseas Bank (Thai)
11. CIMB Thai Bank
12.TISCO Bank
13. Kiatnakin Bank
14. ACL Bank
15. Land and House Retail Bank
16. AIG Retail Bank
Total Assets
(Million baht)
1. The Bank of TokyoMitsubishi Ltd
2. Citibank N.A.
3. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking
Corporation
4. The Hongkong and
Shanghai Banking Co.,Ltd.
5. Misuho Corporate Bank
Limited
6. Deutsche Bank AG.
7. JP Morgan Chase Bank
8. Calyon Corporate and
Investment Bank
9. ABN-AMRO Bank
10. BNP Paribas
11.Oversea-Chinese
Banking Corporation
12. Bank of America N.A.
13. Bank of China
14. RHB Bank Berhad
15. Indian Overseas Bank
16. Societe General
Employees
Branches
Year of
Establishment
21,192
16,689
868
832
1944
1966
13,560
688
1945
19,640
949
1906
9,772
9,051
7,158
579
470
407
1945
1957
1941
7,534
2,057
4010
216
39
152
2002
2005
2005
3,102
1,761
2,179
500
612
75
147
34
38
16
21
11
1998
2005
2005
2005
2005
2007
1. The Bank of TokyoMitsubishi Ltd
2. Citibank N.A.
8,774,146
17.MEGA International Commercial Bank
18. The Thai Credit Retail Bank
Total
109
287
119,288
3
6
2005
2007
5,476
Source : Bank of Thailand
The following table shows number of offices of Thai commercial banks as of December 2008.
Offices in Thailand
Bank Incorporated in Thailand
Bangkok Metropolis*
Total
Branch
Subbranch
Oversea Offices
Provincial
Branch
Subbranch
Total
Branch
Subbranch
1. Siam Commercial Bank
949
168
148
352
281
3
3
2. Bangkok Bank
868
127
96
375
270
21**
16
4
3. Krung Thai Bank
832
138
70
487
137
7
6
1
4. Kasikorn Bank
688
141
102
325
120
7
4
5. Bank of Ayudhaya
579
137
56
227
159
3
3
6. TMB Bank
470
135
26
256
53
3
3
7. Siam City Bank
407
104
37
213
53
8. Thanachart Bank
216
33
61
71
51
9. United Overseas Bank (Thai)
152
86
2
64
0
1
1
10.CIMB Thai Bank
147
43
32
46
26
11.Standard Chartered Bank
(Thai)
39
24
4
10
1
12. Kiatnakin Bank
38
4
34
13. Tisco Bank
34
3
5
24
2
14. Land and Houses Retail Bank
21
4
10
5
2
15. ACL Bank
16
5
11
16. AIG Retail Bank
11
1
0
10
17. The Thai Credit Retail Bank
6
2
1
3
18. MEGA International
3
2
1
0
Commercial Bank***
Sub - Total
5,476
1,157
650
2,514
1,155
45
36
5
Banks Incorporated Abroad
16
16
Total
5,492
1,173
650
2,514
1,155
45
36
5
Remark: * Including Head Office, ** Bangkok Bank's Kuala Lumpur Branch was transformed into a local company named
Bangkok Bank Berhad in September 1994, *** Subsidiary
Repre
sentat
ive
1
3
4
4
Source: Bank of Thailand and The Thai's Bankers Association - Compiled from Individual Banks
Meanwhile, there are 16 foreign bank branches/representative offices ranked by total assets as below.
Name
1. The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd
2. Citibank N.A.
3. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
4. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Co.,Ltd.
5. Misuho Corporate Bank Limited
6. Deutsche Bank AG.
7. JP Morgan Chase Bank
8. Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank
9. ABN-AMRO Bank
10. BNP Paribas
11.Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation
12. Bank of America N.A.
13. Bank of China
14. RHB Bank Berhad
15. Indian Overseas Bank
16. Societe General
Total
Total Assets
Number of
(Million Baht)
Employees
246,141
201,401
196,117
159,193
149,957
119,958
73,149
35,399
25,144
20,722
13,310
11,284
7,710
6,071
5,202
3,453
1,274,211
468
2,410
329
1006
310
161
63
103
67
51
42
47
41
36
40
n.a.
5,174
Source : The Thai's Bankers Association - Compiled from Individual Banks
Year of
Opening
1962
1985
1997
1888
1997
1988
2001
2004
1888
1997
1909
1949
1997
1964
2007
2005
Banking Services and Technologies in Thailand
Nowadays, Thai banks develop their banking technologies continuously and plan to increase IT spending
moving forward by keeping two focus areas: Core IT Infrastructure and Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) in order to enhance the capability of banking services as well as enhancing internal working systems
and processes efficiency. Thai banks aim to further develop their customer information systems and business
intelligence systems as well as their electronic networks. They focus on enhancing online services such as
internet banking services and mobile banking services.
Thai banks provide several services related to technological infrastructure such as ATMs, EFTPOS
machines, debit cards, credit cards, and e-money cards. According to Bank of Thailand's report, it
summarized technological infrastructure in Thailand as of December 2008 as below.
Number of automated teller machines (ATM)
34,745
Number of EFTPOS machines
259,567
Number of Credit Cards
12,971,694
Number of Debit Cards
26,266,359
Number of ATM Cards
22,423,525
Currency in circulation per capita as of 31 December 2008
11,889 baht
Average cheque usage per capita*
2 cheques per year
Monthly average value of credit card payments**
3,395 baht per card
Monthly average value of cash withdrawals via ATM card
6,056 baht per card
Monthly average value of debit card payments***
75 baht per card
Monthly average value of cash withdrawals via debit card
7,640 baht per card
Remark:
* Includes intrabank and interbank cheque transactions.
** Only payments from credit cards issued in Thailand for goods and services via EFTPOS in Thailand and overseas.
*** Only payments from credit cards issued in Thailand for goods and services via EFTPOS in Thailand and overseas.
Thai banks also provide online services such as e-banking, mobile banking, and telebanking that serve both
personal and corporate. They also provide several kinds of payment services such as bill payment, direct
debit, and tax payment as well as providing e-cheque as one of electronic money transferring service.
Sources:
The Thai Bankers’ Association – http://www.tba.or.th
Bank of Thailand – http://www.bot.or.th