Moody’s affirms ratings of seven Thai banks, revises outlooks to stable after sovereign rating update

Moody’s Ratings affirms the ratings of seven Thai financial institutions and revises their outlooks to stable from negative, following the sovereign rating upgrade from negative to stable.

Singapore, April 22, 2026 — Moody’s Ratings (Moody’s) has today affirmed the ratings of seven Thai financial institutions and changed their outlooks to stable from negative. The seven Thai financial institutions are Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited (BBL), Export-Import Bank of Thailand (EXIMT), KASIKORNBANK Public Company Limited (KBank), Krung Thai Bank Public Company Limited (KTB), Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited (SCB), SCB X Public Company Limited (SCBX) and TMBThanachart Bank Public Company Limited (TTB).

The rating action follows the affirmation of Government of Thailand’s Baa1 rating and the change in outlook to stable from negative. The other Thai banks are not affected by this sovereign rating action.

Key Actions

• Moody’s affirmed the ratings of seven Thai financial institutions: Bangkok Bank (BBL), Export-Import Bank of Thailand (EXIMT), KASIKORNBANK (KBank), Krung Thai Bank (KTB), Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), SCB X (SCBX), and TMBThanachart Bank (TTB).
• Their outlooks were changed from negative to stable, following the sovereign rating action on Thailand.

Sovereign Context

• Thailand’s Baa1 sovereign rating was affirmed, with outlook revised to stable.
• Rationale: reduced downside risks from US tariffs, manageable risks from Middle East conflict, improving investment momentum, and political stability from a sizeable parliamentary majority.

Bank-Specific Highlights

• BBL: Strong capital and liquidity; ratings aligned with sovereign.
• EXIMT: Government-backed, benefits from rating uplift despite weak asset quality.
• KBank: Solid capital and profitability; risks from household and SME debt.
• KTB: Largest state-owned bank; strong capitalization and buffers.
• SCB/SCBX: Good profitability; SCBX rated slightly lower due to structural subordination.
• TTB: Strong capitalization; risks from household sector exposure.

Entity-Specific Guidelines

BBL

The affirmation of BBL’s Baa1 foreign-currency (FC) deposit rating, (P)Baa1 FC senior unsecured medium-term note (MTN) program rating and baa1 BCA reflects the bank’s solid capital and credit reserves, as well as its strong funding and liquidity. These credit strengths mitigate asset risks arising from Thailand’s slowing economic growth and the bank’s sizable exposure to market risks. BBL’s Baa1 FC deposit and (P)Baa1 FC senior unsecured MTN program ratings incorporate our assumption that the probability of support from the Government of Thailand will be very high in times of need, but they do not benefit from rating uplift because the bank’s baa1 BCA is already at the same level as the sovereign rating.

EXIMT

The affirmation of EXIMT’s Baa1 FC issuer rating, (P)Baa1 FC senior unsecured MTN program rating and ba3 BCA reflects the bank’s adequate capitalization and large credit reserves relative to its problem loans which mitigate the risks from its weak asset quality and modest profitability. The BCA also considers the bank’s good access to funding because of its policy role and strong linkages to the government, balanced by its weak liquidity. EXIMT’s Baa1 ratings also incorporate our classification of the bank as a government-backed institution, based on its policy role and full ownership by the Government of Thailand. As a result, the bank’s Baa1 ratings benefit from five notches of uplift from its ba3 BCA.

KBank

The affirmation of KBank’s Baa1 local-currency (LC) and FC deposit ratings, (P)Baa1 FC senior unsecured MTN program rating and baa2 BCA reflects the bank’s solid capital, strong funding and good profitability, which offset asset risks arising from its exposure to the heavily indebted Thai households and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). KBank’s Baa1 deposit and (P)Baa1 senior unsecured MTN program ratings are one notch higher than the bank’s baa2 BCA, based on our assumption that the probability of support from the Government of Thailand will be very high in times of need.

KTB

The affirmation of KTB’s Baa1 LC and FC deposit ratings, (P)Baa1 FC senior unsecured MTN program rating and baa3 BCA reflects its strong capitalization and loan loss buffers, which mitigate asset risks arising from Thailand’s slowing economic growth. The BCA also considers the bank’s stable liquidity and strong deposit franchise, underpinned by its status as the largest state-owned commercial bank in Thailand.  KTB’s Baa1 deposit ratings are two notches higher than the bank’s baa3 BCA, reflecting our assumption that the probability of support from the Government of Thailand will be very high in times of need.

SCB and SCBX

The affirmation of SCBX’s Baa2 LC and FC issuer ratings, as well as SCB’s Baa1 LC and FC deposit ratings, (P)Baa1 FC senior unsecured MTN program rating and baa2 BCA, reflects the group’s solid capital, strong funding and good profitability. These credit strengths mitigate asset risks arising from its exposure to the heavily indebted Thai households and SMEs, including the riskier loans at its consumer finance subsidiaries. SCB’s Baa1 deposit ratings and (P)Baa1 FC senior unsecured MTN program rating are one notch higher than the bank’s baa2 BCA, reflecting our assumption of a very high probability of support from the Government of Thailand in times of need. SCBX’s Baa2 issuer ratings are one notch lower than SCB’s Baa1 deposit ratings, reflecting structural subordination risk and a moderate probability of government support for the holding company.

TTB

The affirmation of TTB’s Baa1 FC deposit rating, (P)Baa1 FC senior unsecured MTN program rating and baa3 BCA reflects the bank’s strong capitalization and loan loss buffers, which mitigate asset risks from its large exposure to the highly leveraged household sector in Thailand. The BCA also considers the bank’s good liquidity and stable deposit franchise which largely consists of stickier retail deposits. TTB’s Baa1 deposit rating is two notches higher than the bank’s baa3 BCA, reflecting our assumption that the probability of support from the Government of Thailand will be very high in times of need.

This rating action is based on a baseline scenario of a contained impact of the Middle East conflict on energy markets notwithstanding ongoing disruption to oil supply and limited damage to production or infrastructure.  Nevertheless, we recognize that the credit profiles may be susceptible to a more adverse scenario in the conflict, reflecting their activities in a sector exposed to the macro-financial conditions risk transmission channel, which could lead to a more consequential impact on creditworthiness.

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