Songpon Cheewapanyaroj, Director of Government Savings Bank (GSB). "tags": ["Government Savings Bank", "Leadership"] He spoke at a press conference outlining his vision and policies as the 18th director of Government Savings Bank, revealing that the bank has consistently maintained its role as more than just a financial institution but as a reliable support in all aspects of Thai society. "tags": ["vision", "leadership", "Government Savings Bank"]
Going forward, the bank is ready to advance its operations toward becoming a social bank for all lives, "tags": ["future plans", "social banking"] a “Smart Social Bank for All Lives.” "tags": ["branding", "social banking"] This aims to generate positive social impacts across all stages of life for Thai people. "tags": ["social impact", "community"]
“Especially small players or SMEs, who are the bank’s primary focus. These groups often lack access to services from commercial banks due to no collateral, no financial history, or irregular account activity. However, GSB will open its doors to them by applying more flexible criteria, offering affordable interest rates, and providing financial literacy tools to help them improve their livelihoods.” "tags": ["SMEs", "financial inclusion", "loan policy"]
The bank’s operational direction for 2026 is significant expansion to support grassroots economic structures and small entrepreneurs. The bank plans new loans for grassroots individuals and SMEs amounting to approximately 270-320 billion baht. "tags": ["loan expansion", "economic development", "SMEs"]
These goals include increasing the grassroots client base by 1 million while pushing new SME and small entrepreneur loans to grow by around 120 billion baht—a 40% increase from the previous year—to circulate money widely within the economy. "tags": ["client growth", "loan growth", "economic impact"]
Additionally, the bank will provide 100 billion baht in low-interest (soft) loans to support the transition to clean energy, including loans for solar rooftop installations and electric vehicle (EV) purchases. So far, about 9 billion baht has been approved and disbursed, leaving over 90 billion baht available. "tags": ["clean energy", "soft loans", "solar", "electric vehicles"]
While this proportion may seem small relative to the total loan amount, GSB explains this results from a strategy to cap interest rates at low levels to genuinely benefit entrepreneurs, which in turn may make interest margins less attractive to some commercial banks. "tags": ["interest rate policy", "bank strategy"]
Nevertheless, the bank plans to accelerate efforts by relaxing loan conditions, focusing on target industries requiring transformation, including clean energy sectors such as EVs and solar rooftops, which have attracted strong interest from entrepreneurs, commercial banks, and non-bank financial institutions regulated by the Bank of Thailand. "tags": ["loan conditions", "target industries", "clean energy"]
“Regarding non-performing loans (NPL), although the figures require monitoring, the bank believes that managing interest rates appropriately and proactively approaching customers to provide a financial “buffer” during rising production costs will improve borrowers’ financial discipline and naturally reduce the risk of bad debts,” Songpon said. "tags": ["NPL management", "financial discipline"]
Furthermore, the bank plans to encourage customers to save via Government Savings Bank lottery bonds this year, offering total prizes amounting to 113 million baht to provide higher returns. "tags": ["savings", "lottery bonds", "customer incentives"]
At the same time, a major challenge set by the director from day one is an “IT reform” to simplify usage and enable access without visiting branches. This mission will succeed through committed personnel and an organizational culture focused on problem-solving rather than fault-finding. Within 3-4 months, society will witness significant changes in GSB’s technology, products, and services that better reach the public’s needs. "tags": ["IT reform", "digital transformation", "customer service"]
Although growth in the first quarter followed seasonal trends without significant spikes, GSB is confident that with well-prepared products addressing all life dimensions, loan and deposit growth will surge in the second and third quarters, advancing the bank toward becoming a full-fledged social bank for Thailand. "tags": ["growth outlook", "product readiness", "social banking"]
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