Bank lending in Thailand declined 18.7 percent, or 820 billion baht, compared with last year's first half, said Thai Farmers Research Center (TFRC).
According to the data released by TFRC, 13 major banks retain total outstanding loans of 3.58 trillion baht, with the top four banks - Bangkok Bank (BBL), Krung Thai Bank (KTB), Thai Farmers Bank (TFB) and Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) - accounting for 65.24 percent of the total lending amount.
An official at TFRC explained the decline was the result of several factors. But the primary reason is the country's slow economic recovery, reducing demand for loans from both the commercial and industrial sectors.
Other elements include companies' debt to equity conversions, banks' shifting of bad loans to asset management companies (AMC) and debt write-offs.
TFRC also estimated the total banks' deposits to be 4.48 trillion baht, a 5.01-percent increase from the same period a year ago.
