Over 100,000 borrowers seek help to settle informal debts

A total of 105,482 borrowers have signed up since the beginning of December for government assistance in tackling their informal indebtedness, estimated at about 6.5 billion, Government Spokesman Chai Wacharonke said on Friday.

So far, authorities have succeeded in mediating debt settlements for 224 borrowers, out of the 1,294 cases currently in the mediation process, and the amount of debt has been reduced from 133.5 million to about 44 million baht, he said, adding that applications for assistance will be accepted until March 31st.

Of all the borrowers who have registered this month, 92,235 have applied through the online system, which helps to protect their identities from public scrutiny. Altogether 76,223 informal money lenders are identified in those applications.

Bangkok has seen the most applications for help. The five top provinces are:

1. Bangkok, 6,649 borrowers, 5,692 creditors and 562 million baht worth of debt
2. Nakhon Si Thammarat, 4,506 borrowers, 3,722 creditors and 278.5 million baht worth of debt
3. Songkhla, 4,164 borrowers, 2,975 creditors and 259 million baht worth of debt
4. Nakhon Ratchasima, 4,065 borrowers, 2,596 creditors and 311 million baht worth of debt
5. Khon Kaen, 2,764 borrowers, 2,245 creditors and 205.6 million baht worth of debt

The five provinces with the lowest numbers of applications are:

• Mae Hong Son, 144 borrowers, 113 creditors and 6.5 million baht worth of debt
• Ranong, 221 borrowers, 138 creditors and 15.6 million baht worth of debt
• Samut Songkhram, 281 borrowers, 201 creditors and 9.2 million baht worth of debt
• Trat, 350 borrowers, 226 creditors and 12.4 million baht worth of debt
• Sing Buri, 382 borrowers, 248 creditors and 14.4 million baht worth of debt

Nakhon Sawan has the highest number of cases settled through mediation, with the amount of combined debt being reduced from 14.3 million baht to 570,000 baht.