It may be noteworthy in this respect that a NPL rate of 8.9% in this field has a different economic meaning from the
same figure at commercial banks because personal loans reflect new business whereas the NPL of average loans is still a
burden of the crisis.
The importance of money lenders in Thailand is documented, e.g. in Siamwalla et al. (1990) or Kaboski and
Townsend (2005).