BANGKOK, 16 January 2010 (NNT) - A community bank will be established under the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) to help grassroots people gain access to loan.

The project, approved by Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij and the BAAC board, will not focus on expanding branches but on attracting organizations or networks with similar goals. Village and community funds, even informal creditors, will be drawn to take part in the community bank project.

The Finance Minister said that operations of the community bank will be different from the state-run Government Savings Bank (GSB); however, they share the same goal of providing loans to more than one million grassroots.

As for interest rates used by the community banks, they will be fixed like the People’s Bank, another project to assist the grassroots financially. The rates will be figured by the BAAC.

The community bank is expected to commence this year.

The Finance Minister also assigned the GSB to promote funds for low-income earners, help informal debtors, facilitate SMEs, and create a culture of savings. The minister said he wanted the GSB to distribute a new lot of Strong Thai bonds to a wider group of people.

Source: National News Bureau of Thailand