BANGKOK, 21 January 2014 Executives of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives confirms the bank will not use deposits and liquidity to finance the rice subsidy scheme, saying that the program’s finances must come from the government and the bank’s liquidity is still abundant.
The Labor Union of the BAAC and the bank’s employees on Tuesday held up black banners to protest against the idea to bankroll the rice support program with the BAAC’s liquidity.
BAAC Manager Lak Wachananawat said after the board’s meeting on Tuesday that the Election Commission (EC) was considering the government’s request for an approval to borrow money for the cash-strapped program. If the EC did not nod to the loan, the BAAC would find ways to help the rice farmers who had not yet been paid, the manager said.
The bank manager also confirmed the BAAC’s liquidity was as high as 180 billion baht or 18% of deposits, more than 10% higher than the level set by the Bank of Thailand.
