Siam Commercial Bank
Siam Commercial Bank
Siam Commercial Bank (Thai: ธนาคารไทยพาณิชย์) was established on 30 January 1907 by royal charter as the first Thai bank. According to information filed with the Bank of Thailand, SCB was Thailand's largest commercial bank (in total assets), as of 31 December 2018. King Vajiralongkorn is the largest single shareholder, owning 23.35 percent of SCB shares.
SCB was founded as the "Book Club" on 4 October 1904 by Prince Jayanta Mongkol, a brother of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), who was convinced that the time was ripe for Siam to have its own banking system to help foster the country's economic development, rather than rely on foreign banks operating branches in the country. The name "Book Club" was chosen in an effort to keep the project sub rosa as it was something of an experiment. After the success of the "Book Club", King Chulalongkorn granted royal approval for it to officially operate as a commercial bank under the name "The Siam Commercial Bank" on 30 January 1907.
SCB opened its headquarters in Bangkok's Talat Noi District in 1910. In 1911, it was granted approval to display the royal Garudasymbol as a royal warrant by King Vajiravudh (Rama VI).
SCB's total market capitalization as of 31 December 2018 was 453,813 million baht. As of April 2018, SCB had 1,154 branches. It plans to reduce the number of branches to 400 by 2020 as it moves to digital banking. The workforce is to be reduced also, from 27,000 to 15,000. As of 2013 it had 108 foreign exchange kiosks and 9,142 ATMs.
According to SCB, "The Bank provides a full range of financial services, including corporate and personal lending, retail and wholesale banking, foreign currency operations, international trade financing, cash management, custodial services, credit and charge card services and investment banking services, through its head office and its extensive branch network.
