In a time when the overall economy remains fraught with risks—including the potential impact of war pushing energy costs higher and tighter lending standards by financial institutions—SME loans in the market have contracted continuously.
However, Thai Credit Bank (CREDIT), which focuses on SMEs, continues to advance its business. Roy Agustinus Gunara, Chief Executive Officer of Thai Credit Bank, explained that although the ongoing war may have some impact, it is not significantly affecting SME and Micro SME customers. Nevertheless, if oil and energy prices rise, this could increase SME operational costs in the near future.
While the SME customer group carries higher risk, the bank carefully screens for quality clients and maintains cautious lending. In 2026, the focus will be on the Micro SME segment, which last year accounted for 12% of the total loan portfolio and 84% of the customer base from 305,928 accounts.
“Micro SMEs are a segment every bank wants to reach, but the higher costs involved mean we must accelerate digital development to reduce the cost of accessing these customers,” Roy said.
The key for Micro SME and nano loan customers is that they generally do not focus on whether interest rates are high or low but rather on whether they can obtain a loan and how much their monthly repayments will be. The bank emphasizes service and educating customers to borrow within their repayment capacity to enable business growth.
Asked whether the bank needs to lower interest rates to compete, the bank responded that SME loan demand remains strong while other banks are retreating. Therefore, it does not plan to reduce rates to compete but will focus on service quality. The loan products for each customer group are as follows:
Each group typically has an average interest rate around 24% per annum.
. Regarding non-performing loans (NPLs), the bank's overall NPL ratio in 2025 stood at 4.2%, below the industry average in the same sector. Broken down by segment, nano loans had an NPL of 10%, Micro SMEs 3.8%, and larger SMEs with loans exceeding 30 million baht had an NPL below 1%. Home-for-cash loans had an NPL of 1-2% (as LTV does not exceed 100%). For 2026, the bank aims to sell off non-performing loans worth approximately 1.5 to 2 billion baht to maintain portfolio quality.
To improve cost efficiency, the bank is adopting digital systems to reduce expenses. Recently, it has begun building a new infrastructure by upgrading its Core Banking system to a "Full Digital Banking Platform" with a budget exceeding 600 million baht, expected to be completed by early 2027. This will significantly lower operating costs by more than 40%. Additionally, in the first quarter of 2026, the bank plans to launch the "alpha SME" platform to enhance its database and improve deep risk analysis accuracy, supporting anticipated rapid transaction growth.
Despite projections that Thailand's GDP in 2026 may be lower than the previous year, the bank targets loan growth exceeding 10%, continuing from 11.5% growth in 2025. It believes government stimulus measures and credit guarantees from the Credit Guarantee Corporation will facilitate greater SME access to funding. Thai Credit aims to double its loan portfolio to 280-300 billion baht by 2029, positioning itself as a mid-sized bank.
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