KBANK July lending drops 1.03% mom

Kasikorn Bank posted total outstanding loans of Bt868,708mn, as of July 2009, a decline of Bt9,076mn, or -1.03% mom. This brings the bank’s seven-month lending to decline by Bt31,900mn, or -3.54% Ytd, mainly from working capital loan repayments. The bank is maintaining their 2009 loan growth target of 4-5%. Currently, we are maintaining our 2009 loan growth target at 4.0%. We expect loan growth improvement, especially in SME loans, in 2H09 due to an economic recovery, government stimulus packages and better loan seasonality.