CLEAR THE AIR
Krungthai Bank says it’s ready to cooperate with regulatory bodies in the wake of the ICIJ report on suspicious transactions.
Krungthai Bank (KTB) says it’s ready to cooperate with local and international regulatory bodies to investigate funds transfers as the bank awaits clearer information from the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
Payong Srivanich, KTB president and chairman of the Thai Bankers’ Association, said the bank has not received an official affirmation from any regulatory body, either local or international, about illegally received funds, while funds transfers are still based on alleged suspicious activities as opposed to outright wrongdoings.
The bank has continued to report international transactions to FinCEN as a normal practice.
KTB has discussed the issue with the Anti-Money Laundering Office and the Bank of Thailand, Mr Payong said.
Jaturong Jatharangs, assistant governor of supervision group 1 at the central bank, said suspicious banking transactions are information normally reported to FinCEN, but every transaction does not equate to wrongdoing.
A report released this week by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) alleged that four Thai banks engaged in suspicious activities involving illicit funds.
The report did not originate from FinCEN, therefore a further assessment will be made by relevant agencies, Mr Jaturong said.
The ICIJ found 92 transactions involving the four Thai banks receiving US$9.6 million and remitting $31.75 million between 2000 and 2017.
KTB, Bangkok Bank, Kasikornbank and the Export-Import Bank of Thailand are the four Thai banks named in the report.
The report, which highlighted the role of banks across the globe in moving illegally gained funds over the past two decades, was based on 2,100 suspicious activities reports from 1999 to 2017, flagging more than $2 trillion worth of transactions filed by banks and other financial institutions with FinCEN.
In other news, KTB’s digital local transactions via its banking app, Krungthai Next, rose sharply during the lockdown period from March to April when coronavirus containment measures were in place, Mr Payong said.
Digital transactions represented about 80% of total transactions, accounting for a growth rate of 60% on a year-on-year basis, he said.
Despite how lockdown measures have eased, digital transactions are still showing positive signs in line with the digital era and social distancing behaviour during the persistent pandemic, Mr Payong said.
Financial transactions via the mobile banking app with a smaller ticket size, or less than 1,000 baht per transaction, have surged, reflecting better access to digital banking services, he said.
KTB, the country’s third-largest bank by total assets, yesterday debuted updated mobile banking technology with new features.
The bank aims to increase the number of mobile banking app users to 12 million by the end of next year from 9 million at present.
KTB has also tested a personal digital loan offering using alternative data under the central bank’s regulatory sandbox for a few months.
The Bank of Thailand has allowed financial service providers to use alternative data, such as utility bills and financial transactions with online merchants, for loan approval analysis.