Thailand: SME Bank to use big data analytics to assess risk

• Apr 04, 2018

The State Enterprise Policy Office (Sepo) has linked information about tap water and electricity consumption to big data analytics technology to allow the state-owned Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand (SME Bank) to better assess risks and make faster loan approval decisions. 
SME Bank can use the information pooled from five state enterprises for big data analytics to verify loan applicants’ identity, including their location, while utility usage can imply their business activity, which can be used in making loan approval decisions, said Ekniti Nitithanprapas, director-general of Sepo. 
The five state enterprises are the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA), the Provincial Electricity Authority, the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority, the Provincial Waterworks Authority and SME Bank. 
Sharing information among state enterprises is part of a policy to employ big data technology to improve services for people and sharpen competitive edge. 
Sepo recently said it planned to pool SME data from all specialised financial institutions with the aim of determining the best assistance measures for SMEs. The information is to be kept as a database, and the government will adopt big data technology to analyse information such as the nature of the business, the problems the government needs to address, and which businesses contribute to non-performing loans and where are they situated. The database is to pave the way for SMEs to better access borrowing sources from state-owned banks, as financial institutions in the past determined loan approvals based largely on financial statements. 
SME Bank president Mongkol Leelatham said the bank wants to use information and big data technology to verify micro-SME operators’ identities, affording them easier access to funding sources. 
When the big data system’s efficiency has been improved in the future, people can use it to turn on tap water and electricity as well as seek a home construction licence, all in one stop, said Chaiyong Puapongsakorn, the MEA governor. 

Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1440346/sme-bank-to-use-big-data-analytics-to-assess-risk