Thailand banks' system loans climb 4.3% in October

SME loans drove the growth.

Thailand's system loans grew 0.1% MoM, 4.3% YoY and 1.6% YTD in October 2014.

According to a research note from Maybank Kim Eng, banks with high SME loan bias led the positive growth while auto lenders still posted loan contraction.

The report noted that the nine banks under its coverage posted loan growth in Oct 2014. However, it was also noted that overall loan demand remained weak.

Here's more from Maybank Kim Eng:

TMB and KBANK reported strongest loan growth YTD, thanks to healthy demand for SME loans.

TISCO and TCAP posted negative loan growth YTD on contraction of auto loans as monthly new auto lending was lower than auto repayment.

KKP’s loan growth remained positive as business loans helped offset negative auto loan growth.