Bangkok: The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) has announced a series of relief measures aimed at supporting customers impacted by the ongoing conflict at the Thai-Cambodian border. These initiatives are designed to alleviate financial burdens and promote recovery for affected individuals.
According to Thai News Agency, BAAC has introduced several measures including the waiver of all principal and interest on loans, extending repayment periods for existing debts by a year, and offering a 20 billion baht rehabilitation package. Customers can avail of loans up to 50,000 baht at zero percent interest for the first six months. Additionally, there are provisions for rehabilitation and quality of life improvement loans of up to 500,000 baht per person at an interest rate of MRR-2.
Mr. Chatchai Sirilai, Manager of BAAC, highlighted the impact of the unrest on customers' livelihoods in the provinces of Buriram, Sisaket, Surin, Ubon Ratchathani, Trat, and Sa Kaeo. To address these challenges, BAAC offers debt waivers in cases of debtor death or disappearance, and interest and penalty fee waivers for mortgage collateral. Joint collateral debts will be waived proportionally.
For family members of debtors who are deceased or missing, entire penalty interest will be waived, and accrued interest will be reduced by 50% for contracts financed by BAAC. Debts with stable principal balances not overdue by more than three months can have their repayment periods extended by up to a year. Applications for these measures are open until January 31, 2026, at BAAC branches.
Additional support includes a liquidity enhancement and customer recovery package totaling 20 billion baht. This funding covers housing and agricultural infrastructure repairs, as well as the restoration of disaster-damaged production. The emergency loan program offers up to 50,000 baht per borrower with a 0% interest rate for the first six months. Beyond this period, the interest rate will follow the MRR, currently set at 6.625%.
The Rehabilitation and Quality of Life Development Loan Project provides up to 500,000 baht per person for repairing damaged assets and funding new agricultural activities, at an interest rate of MRR-2. BAAC encourages affected individuals to reach out to any branch for further assistance and aims to help customers navigate this challenging period. For more information, customers are advised to contact any BAAC branch nationwide.