Loan growth at Thailand's large banks picked up in the first half of 2026, driven mainly by corporate lending, while borrowing from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remained weak.Thailand's six domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs) reported a combined loan portfolio of 13.6 trillion baht as of June 2026, up 2.6% from the end of 2025 and 1.6% from the end of March.
The six D-SIBs are Krungthai Bank (KTB), Bangkok Bank (BBL), Kasikornbank (KBank), Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), which operates its banking business under holding company SCB X, Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri), and TMBThanachart Bank (ttb). As of June, KTB became Thailand's largest lender by total assets, overtaking BBL.
KTB reported consolidated loans to customers of 2.81 trillion baht, up 3.6% from the end of 2025, driven mainly by lending growth in the retail, corporate and government segments, according to the bank's financial statement filed with the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).
Loans to the government and state enterprises rose sharply to 633 billion baht, up 12.9% in the first half from the end of last year, while SME lending edged up just 0.3% over the period.
"The bank's total loan growth resulted from cautious and flexible portfolio management in line with economic conditions, while maintaining an appropriate risk-return balance," KTB said.
