Government Sets Measures to Help Tackle People’s Debt Problem

Concerned about the debt problem faced by various groups of people, the Government has set both short- and long-term measures to tackle this problem under a whole-system approach.

Prime Minister and Defense Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha stated that the people’s debt problem was brought up to the Cabinet meeting on 15 June 2021 for acknowledgement.

In the overall picture, some of the people facing a debt burden include students (education loans), teachers and civil servants, car and motorcycle leasing clients, and persons whose debt was incurred by credit card use and personal loans.

The Prime Minister said that the short-term measures to ease the problem must be carried out within six months. For instance, the interest rates of personal loans should be reduced for small-scale debtors, microfinance, and nanofinance.

The Bank of Thailand has been asked to review the ceiling of interest rates, supervise the credit card business, personal loans, and “car for cash” loans, and give advice on debt mediation.

Under the long-term measures, competitiveness will be enhanced among financial institutions for the reduction of interest rates. These measures also include the reduction of housing expenses and travel costs for mass transit services. A new agency will be set up to supervise loans from the car and motorcycle leasing business.

The Cabinet on 15 June also approved a proposal to reduce contributions to the Social Security Fund for six months for insured persons under Section 40 of the Social Security Act. The decision aims to ease the hardships of insured persons affected by the COVID-19 situation and to increase the people’s purchasing power.

Source: The Government Public Relations Department

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