Credit cards land Bangkokians in debt
Soaring inflation has forced many Bangkok residents to live in heavy debt, and their major creditors are credit card issuers, according to a report by Kasikorn Research Center.
The Kasikorn survey among 1,450 Bangkokians with monthly earnings of 15,000 baht per month or less found that most faced heavy compound interest debts arising from the use of credit cards followed by mortgages for homes, and hire-purchase buying of automobiles or motorcycles by monthly installment.
Of the total debt, the survey showed that those earning less than Bt15,000 month must pay as much as 52.6 per cent for their credit card debts, 21.1 per cent for debts outside the formal legal system, 15.8 per cent for monthly installments to buy motorcycles and 5.3 per cent for housing loans.
For Bangkok households with monthly earnings of over Bt15,000, their debts incurred from the extended use of credit cards stand as high as 40 per cent followed by 28 per cent on payment of housing loans, 24 per cent on monthly installment for the purchase of cars and 4 per cent on monthly installment to buy motorcycles.
Insufficient income, indicated by 37.2 per cent of the respondents, was the main factor forcing people living in Bangkok to live in debt, said the report.
Bangkok Post Nov. 4, 2007
Song recommendation "Master Charge" by Albert Collins & The Icebreakers