Suksomruay led the National Village and Urban Community Fund Board to approve a budget exceeding 4.4 billion baht and launch the "Thai Help Thai: Capital Increase, Half Interest" project, cutting loan interest rates by 50% to assist village fund borrowers, with kickoff starting this June 2026.
On 10 June 2026 GMT+7, reporters reported that on 9 June, Mrs. Suksomruay Wantaneeyakul, Minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office, chaired the meeting of the National Village and Urban Community Fund Board (NVUCFB) at Meeting Room 301, 3rd Floor, Government House Building 1, Government House. The meeting approved the major project "Thai Help Thai: Capital Increase, Half Interest" with a budget framework of over 4,452,000,000 baht, aiming to reduce expenses and strengthen financial liquidity directly for grassroots people nationwide.
Mrs. Suksomruay revealed that the meeting approved measures to assist the public through the village fund mechanism by implementing the "Thai Help Thai: Capital Increase, Half Interest" project. The key principle is that the government will allocate additional capital to village funds so they can reduce loan interest rates on Account 1 for members by at least half of the usual rate, directly easing borrowers' interest burdens. Each fund can start submitting participation requests within June 2026.
Regarding the capital allocation based on the reduced interest amounts, the government will allocate matching funds to village funds by calculating from the “total interest amount the fund has reduced for members during the current fiscal contract period” according to the following tiered criteria:
• Tier 1: If the interest reduction by the village fund does not exceed 30,000 baht, the fund will receive an allocation of 30,000 baht.
• Tier 2: If the interest reduction exceeds 30,000 but does not exceed 50,000 baht, the fund will receive an allocation of 50,000 baht.
• Tier 3: If the interest reduction exceeds 50,000 but does not exceed 70,000 baht, the fund will receive an allocation of 70,000 baht.
• Tier 4: If the interest reduction exceeds 70,000 but does not exceed 90,000 baht, the fund will receive an allocation of 90,000 baht.
• Tier 5: If the interest reduction exceeds 90,000 but does not exceed 120,000 baht, the fund will receive an allocation of 120,000 baht.
• Tier 6: If the interest reduction exceeds 120,000 baht, the fund will receive an allocation of 150,000 baht.
The qualifications and criteria for village funds to participate in the project are as follows: 1) Legal status: must be properly registered as a legal entity; 2) Management: must have a fund management committee according to regulations; 3) Transparency: must have operational results and submit financial reports to the National Village and Urban Community Fund Office (NVUCFO) for at least 2 years (from fiscal year 2023 to present); and 4) Community consensus: fund members must approve by at least half of attending members to request capital support and agree to reduce interest rates.
The implementation involves four simple steps:
• 1) Submit request: Village funds submit application forms with documents at the provincial fund coordination center or NVUCFO branch office.
• 2) Verification: NVUCFO branch offices verify qualifications and accuracy before submitting to the branch director for processing and sending to the central office for approval.
• 3) Fund transfer: The NVUCFO central office transfers allocated funds directly into the village fund's Account 1.
• 4) Contract signing: Village funds receiving allocations must promptly create or amend interest contracts with members within the fiscal year.
However, the Minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office has assigned the NVUCFO to rapidly develop detailed operational guidelines and actively promote project activities across all regions to ensure the assistance funds reach the people thoroughly and achieve the government's policy goals as quickly as possible.