Phaophum recommends that Thailand promote the “Bangkok AI Finance Initiative” at the IMF-World Bank 2026 forum to give greater meaning to its important hosting role.
5 Sep 2026 GMT+7 Mr. Phaophum Rojanasakul, Deputy Leader of the Pheu Thai Party and former Deputy Minister of Finance, said that Thailand should take advantage of hosting the Annual Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group (IMF-WBG 2026). He proposed advancing the “Bangkok AI Finance Initiative,” which applies AI within the financial system under the concept of “AI-Driven Financial Inclusion.”
Mr. Phaophum further stated that Thailand should leverage its hosting to present a policy direction. Thailand needs a distinctive proposal at the IMF-WBG forum, especially on issues challenging developing countries. Within the broad framework of Financial Inclusion, emphasis should be on AI and data infrastructure to help the financial system assess the potential and risks of SMEs and unbanked populations or those underserved by financial services, thereby expanding credit access without compromising financial institutions’ risk management standards.
The key is to reduce the information gap between financial institutions and loan applicants, since many people and entrepreneurs in developing countries engage extensively in informal economic activities but still have hidden repayment capacity. Traditional assessment models do not reflect this potential. Financial institutions can use AI to develop Cash Flow-Based Lending and Alternative Credit Scoring to evaluate repayment ability based on economic activities, reducing reliance on traditional credit histories, financial statements, and collateral. This can also integrate with Thailand’s emerging Virtual Bank system.
Moreover, AI should not be used only for loan approval but throughout the credit lifecycle via an AI-Based Early Warning System that monitors cash flow, income volatility, and financial burdens to forecast risks early, enabling proactive debt restructuring before default. This approach expands credit while maintaining loan quality and financial system stability.
AI should also connect with credit guarantee mechanisms by helping determine guarantee ratios, risk sharing, and borrower costs for each group. From a macroeconomic perspective, this approach will improve capital allocation efficiency, support productivity, investment, and employment, and gradually bring the informal economy into the formal system.
“I hope to see these initiatives develop into data standards, model regulatory guidelines, and pilot projects, which will make this important hosting even more meaningful and establish Thailand as the starting point for this collaborative framework,” he said.