Financial reliance on commercial bank loans was another key topic addressed
by the Steering Committee. Looking at composition of the private sector’s external
financing between1988-1998, commercial banks in Thailand accounted for over 76
percent of all external funding compared to 21 in the US.1
Although local corporations
have begun to turn towards the capital market as an alternative source of funding,commercial banks remain dominant, making the economy particularly vulnerable to
changes in the banking sector.