Authorities expect the SME Credit Boost programme, which offers credit guarantees, to generate 100 billion baht in new SME loans over 1-2 years. Kanjana Chockpisarnsin, head of research for the banking and financial sector at Kasikorn Research Center (K-Research), said the SME Credit Boost scheme would support SME loans for 1-2 years, in line with the programme's time frame. K-Research forecasts SME loans in the banking system will contract by 4% year-on-year in 2026, which includes the impact of SME Credit Boost. K-Research forecasts total loans in the banking sector to decline by 0.7% this year, driven by an 8% contraction in hire-purchase loans, a 4% dip in SME loans and a 0.5% decline in mortgages. She said while SME Credit Boost would not be sufficient to drive SME loan growth among banks, it would encourage banks to expand SME lending by lowering credit costs through guarantees.

Source: Bangkok Post February 16, 2026 00:19 UTC