Thailand’s largest bank by assets has been front and centre of working with small and medium-sized enterprises in the country, helping them to grow and develop, innovate, find capital in times of need, and recover from the woes of the global pandemic.
Bangkok Bank has roughly 17 million business and retail customers, more than 240 business centres and business desks, and a network of about 900 branches. It marries that on-the-ground presence with easy-to-use, bilingual and high-function mobile and digital platforms catering to the needs of SMEs.
The firm focuses on SMEs through its business banking division. Its services include everything from business loans, payments, payroll and merchant services to more tailored offerings such as educational programmes to help SMEs become robust and resilient in the increasingly digital economy. In the past year, Bangkok Bank has held seminars and workshops exclusively for SMEs to help them identify business opportunities and new ways to expand their operations.
Some of the other highlights of its SME business include helping struggling firms with long-term debt restructuring, partnering with the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation to provide liquidity, and the digitalization of its own processes to allow SMEs to transact online.
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