Central banks often employ the method, sometimes called jawboning, to guide commercial banks or financial institutions towards policies that stabilise the economy, such as curbing excessive lending, without formal regulations. He said stronger engagement by the central bank on lending issues could encourage banks to relax some criteria and allow viable SMEs to access funding. APPROPRIATE MOVESCommercial banks and multilateral institu- tions have expressed support for the central bank's broader role in strengthening oversight of illicit financial flows and the underground economy. The central bank's move aligns with its findings of a high correlation between gold prices and the baht, making stricter oversight by the regulator reasonable, he said. "The central bank's role is fundamentally to safeguard the country's financial system," said Nonarit Bisonyabut, research fellow at TDRI.

Source: Bangkok Post February 15, 2026 23:09 UTC