Home | China | World | Business Thai Banks Need Not Raise Capital in Next 2 Years THU, FEB 21, 2002     Bank of Thailand (BOT) Governor Pridiyathorn Devakula has affirmed local commercial banks need not increase capital in the next two years as many parties had worried about, according to a BOT report available in Bangkok Thursday. Pridiyathorn said the capital-to-risk asset ratio of the whole banking system is 12 percent, which is higher than 8.5 percent required under the Bank for International Settlement rule. Even the commercial bank with the lowest ratio maintains the capital adequacy at 10 percent. The BOT chief said although commercial banks would accelerate lending this year, their registered capital would not decrease to the extent that they have to raise capital. He said the central bank's decision to cut the 14-day repurchase rate by 0.5 percent produce fruitful results as expected since commercial banks took turns to begin cutting interest rates. The repo cut had also helped the baht weaken, which could benefit the country's exports. Pridiyathorn conceded he was not in a position to tell of the direction of the interest rates in the future. It is the duty of the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee, which has to take into account many changing factors that affect the economic system. Editor:Hope CCTV.com Recommend to your friend email:    China Central Television,All Rights Reserved