BANGKOK, 15 April 2015 – Fraud schemes under the guise of nano-finance loan provision are already ongoing despite the fact that not a single entity has been granted permission to provide the loans, the Ministry of Finance has said.
According to Fiscal Policy Office Director Krisda Chinavicharana, in his capacity as spokesperson to the Ministry of Finance, fraudsters were claiming that they had been granted permits from the finance ministry to engage in nano-financing. These individuals were providing loans at rates higher than those allowed by law and also allowing savers to deposit money in a manner similar to banks.
The spokesman said the Ministry of Finance would like the public to be aware that no nano-financing permits have been issued so far, and that nano-financing entities are not allowed to accept deposits from savers.
The government’s nano-finance project, currently under development, is aimed at solving the problem of loan sharks and unregulated lending, and increasing grassroots people’s access to funds. Under the scheme, local businesses and establishments will be allowed to lend no more than 100,000 baht to each borrower.
