Economics

Thailand to Impose Mortgage Curbs to Tackle Speculation

  • Bank of Thailand announces limits for loan-to-value ratios
  • Practices like loans exceeding property price seen as risky
Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Thailand’s central bank will tighten mortgage lending rules to curb property speculation after growing concerned about risks stemming from a prolonged period of near record-low interest rates.

The Bank of Thailand imposed an 80 percent loan-to-value limit on mortgages for homes worth more than 10 million baht ($306,260), effective Jan. 1, 2019 for new lending, it said in a statement Thursday. The same restriction applies to purchases of second homes. Banks will also be prohibited from providing advances that exceed the value of a property.