"Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC) is an opportunity for SMEs at every stage of life, standing alongside small businesses."

One of the key components of the Thai economy is the SME sector. Currently, SMEs often face liquidity problems and difficulties accessing funding because many lack assets to use as collateral for loans and many also lack sufficient financial literacy. Therefore, a crucial organization for addressing these issues is the Small and Medium Enterprise Credit Guarantee Corporation (SMEG).

The first term of office will focus on "Building the Foundation," establishing a clear strategic direction and prioritizing the development of organizational capabilities and human resources at the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC) to better assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), by integrating digital technology across all aspects of operations.

The second agenda item focuses on enhancing and continuing support for SMEs under the concept of "Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC) is opportunity for SMEs at every stage of life." This outlines TCGC's core mission: reducing inequality in access to credit for SMEs while creating business opportunities throughout their lives.

โดย The Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCG) Under the leadership of Dr. Sittikorn Direksuntorn, Director and General Manager. Assuming his second term on January 4, 2026, he gave an exclusive interview to Finance & Banking, stating that his main goal in this second term is to elevate the organization while simultaneously repositioning itself (TCG Repositioning) from a company "behind the bank" to a "creator of opportunities" in order to reduce inequality in access to credit and increase business opportunities for Thai SMEs.

Opening the first phase of success.
Creating a new corporate culture - embracing digital transformation.

Dr. Sittikorn stated that during his first term in office (January 2565 – January 2569), which marked the 30th anniversary of the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC), the challenge was the COVID-19 crisis, which caused the amount of loan guarantees to surge to its highest level since TCGC's inception.

“I came in when the annual loan guarantee volume exceeded 245 billion baht (in 2021), and continued with another 145 billion baht in 2022. This brought the cumulative loan guarantee portfolio from 2021-2023 to over 800 billion baht. Then, in the second term, the annual loan guarantee volume returned to a normal level, but the demand from society and the financial sector to see changes in various aspects of the SME Guarantee Corporation (SMEGC) accelerated the need for us to further upgrade and adapt once again.”

The first achievement is redirecting the organization's strategy and image through a new DNA, creating a new corporate culture: "TCG Fast & First: Rapid, Prudent, and Number One in the Hearts of SMEs." This involves transforming the organization using digital technology as a driving force, along with developing human resource capabilities, improving credit scoring tools, and connecting SMEs through LINE OA. This signifies driving speed and prudence to be an integral part of the digital financial ecosystem, fulfilling its mission as a specialized financial institution under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance, in order to reach more SMEs and make it easier for SMEs to access the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCG), ultimately meeting the needs of SMEs.

Dr. Sittikorn explained that the exponential growth in loan guarantees resulting from special measures during the COVID-19 crisis was another driving force that prompted the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC) to accelerate the development of its organizational capabilities, human resources, and core digital systems. This included the urgent implementation of measures to assist borrowers who experienced claim payments issues, such as the "TCGC Ready to Help" initiative, aimed at helping borrowers survive, remain financially secure, and ultimately repay their debts. Furthermore, TCGC launched new loan guarantee products catering to all SME sectors, including those needing loan guarantees for pickup trucks. Leveraging over 30 years of accumulated loan guarantee data (Big Data), TCGC developed a Credit Scoring system (TCG Score) to assess risk, design products, and determine risk-based pricing for SME loan guarantees.

“We don't want to encounter guarantors who only appear for two days – the day we guarantee the loan and the day they are claimed as non-performing loans (NPLs). The challenge is how to strengthen SMEs in Thailand. This led to the upgrading of the SME Financial Advisory Center, or TCG FA Center, along with the development of the LINE OA channel: @tcgfirst, to make it easier for SMEs to access TCG at any time. SMEs can check their financial health, book appointments, request consultations, and register for various TCG programs through the LINE OA channel 24 hours a day.”

This channel represents another success for the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC), with the number of followers increasing nearly fourfold by the end of 2025 compared to four years ago.

Promoting the "SME Financial Advisory Center".
Empowering SMEs to have better financial capabilities.

Dr. Sittikorn continued, "The second achievement is providing knowledge to Thai SMEs to increase their opportunities to access formal credit through training and consulting on loan application preparation, debt management, and business operations. During my four years in office, I found that the top problems faced by Thai SMEs were the lack of accounting practices and failure to enter the tax system. This directly impacts their loan applications because financial institutions lack sufficient information to assess risk due to the SMEs' inadequate financial data."

Due to these challenges, the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC) has upgraded its 11 "SME Financial Advisory Centers" (TCGC FA Centers) (Branch Reformat), which focus on providing financial literacy and preparing SMEs to access formal credit, as well as debt resolution. Since its launch in August 2020 – December 31, 2025, the centers have provided financial literacy training to over 31,400 SMEs, a 4.3-fold increase, and have helped over 20% of SMEs access formal credit (Success Rate), up from 7.5% four years ago. This figure is comparable to international standards.

The third achievement is the focus on sustainable debt resolution through the "Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC) Ready to Help" measure. Since implementing this measure in the first term until the end of 2025, it has restructured the debts of more than 24,000 debtors who had received claims from TCGC, restoring them to normal debt status. This represents an accumulated debt of over 16 billion baht, and thousands of debtors have been helped to become debt-free. This success stems from designing measures that align with the debtors' ability to pay claims, extending debt repayment periods by 7 years, focusing on principal reduction before interest reduction, offering a 0% interest rate, and helping debtors reduce their principal by up to 50%.

All of the initial objectives, combined with government economic stimulus measures through the Digital Citizen Wallet, the emergence of Virtual Banks reflecting rapid changes and the entry of new financial players, and the new digital lending system, have led to more intensive goals in the second phase. These goals must address the needs of SMEs and small businesses – the "vulnerable group" that the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC) aims to bridge the financial gap by connecting these individuals with new financial players.

“The strength of the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC) lies in our ability to provide loan guarantees to all financial institutions, both banks and non-banks. Therefore, we must clearly highlight our strengths and fulfill our role as established by the Act, which is to help SMEs access more loans and build confidence among financial institutions in granting loans, thereby driving our mission forward.”

Agenda Item 2: Reduce inequality in access to credit.
Highlighting "Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC) as an opportunity for SMEs at every stage of life."

Regarding the second term of the organization, the CEO of SME Guarantee Corporation (SMEGC) views it as fraught with challenges under constantly changing factors, such as the unrest in the Middle East, which has led to an "energy crisis" directly impacting SMEs. The goal is for SMEGC to become a more effective "financial instrument" for SMEs in accessing credit, under the new concept of "SMEGC: Opportunities at Every Stage of SME Life." This reinforces the fact that throughout its 35 years, SMEGC has not only provided loan guarantees but has also stood by SMEs through every crisis, reaffirming its vision of being "the primary guarantee mechanism connecting capital and opportunities for SMEs to achieve sustainable growth (SMEs' Gateway)."

Driven by four core concepts: 1. Reducing the credit disparity for SMEs (Financial Inclusion); 2. Increasing business opportunities for SMEs; 3. Upgrading organizations to adapt to financial innovation; and 4. Connecting to the digital financial ecosystem and virtual banks.

Dr. Sittikorn emphasized that as of May 31, 2569, the outstanding loan guarantee balance of the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC) exceeded 446,650 million baht, representing 10.9% of the outstanding SME loans in the system and 6.8% of the SME GDP. The cumulative number of clients exceeded 950,620, with over 80% being micro-SMEs. Economic benefit studies show that every 1 million baht of guarantee generates an economic benefit of 4.93 times, reflecting TCGC's significant role in driving the grassroots economy and supporting the substantial growth of SME loans within the system.

In addition to creating financial opportunities for SMEs, in its second term, the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC) focuses on organizational sustainability alongside operations within the ESG sustainability framework. This aims to help SMEs throughout the supply chain adapt while supporting government policies and strengthening the national economy sustainably amidst the impacts of the "energy crisis." The goal is to promote SMEs seeking to transition to green businesses to reduce environmental impact, such as installing solar cells, adapting business models to the BCG model, upgrading machinery, and switching to electric vehicles (EVs), etc. Throughout 2026, TCGC aims to guarantee over 3.3 billion baht in SME loans in this group.

Launching the 3-Prompt Strategy.
Revolutionizing SME assistance.

In the second session, Dr. Sittikorn was present. "The 3-Prompt Strategy" (SME Bank 3-Ready) Revolutionizing credit guarantees and enhancing the efficiency of SME support includes:

1. The Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC) is ready to provide a guarantee. The launch of credit guarantee products, coupled with government measures such as the "Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC) Quick Big Win" program with a budget of 20,000 billion baht, along with other guarantee measures totaling over 80,000 billion baht, is expected to generate more than 50,000 billion baht in loans within the financial system. This will help 67,500 SMEs gain additional access to loans. A key development is the expansion of guarantees to non-bank financial institutions offering "nano-finance" services. This aims to assist vulnerable micro-SMEs that face difficulties accessing loans from traditional financial institutions, with a guarantee limit of no more than 50,000 baht per borrower. The program utilizes accumulated income from TCGC's debt recovery.
The government's Cash Flow Recycle project is helping micro and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that face difficulties accessing funding.

2. The Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC) is ready to help. Moving forward to assist debtors who have had their claims paid off, TCG (Thailand Credit Guarantee Corporation) is implementing debt restructuring measures under the slogan "TCG Ready to Help." This enhances convenience for debtors, allowing them to apply for debt resolution measures and select programs suitable for their repayment ability independently via LINE OA: @tcgfirst at any time.

3. SME Guarantee Corporation (SMEGC) Ready Plus+ (SME Guarantee Corporation Prompt Plus) aims to provide SMEs with greater access to credit and to help financial institutions, both banks and non-banks, gain more confidence in providing loans.

• • Linking the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC) operating model with the SMEs Credit Boost project, a targeted measure, involves leveraging TCGC's expertise to manage large-scale economic stimulus projects, thereby upgrading TCGC's operating operations.
  • Upgrading the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC) portfolio-based claim system to the PromptClaim Dashboard will enable banks and non-bank financial institutions to manage their guarantee portfolios in real-time. This includes real-time reservation of claim amounts for individual policies, coupled with the TCGC FA Center assisting defaulting borrowers before they file claims with financial institutions.
  • The TCG Score credit scoring tool is implemented as a financial health check (TCG Score as-a-service) to assess customer risk, determine guarantee fees based on SME risk levels (Risk-based Pricing) to reduce financing costs, and increase loan approval rates.
    SMEs
  • Connecting to a central platform and creating an SME Guarantee Corporation (SMEGC) API Gateway will allow new financial players to seamlessly connect to SMEG's credit guarantee services. This includes issuing real-time Prompt LG (License Guarantee) guarantees for SMEs directly contacting SMEG via a direct approach, along with connecting to the API Gateway for other financial service providers.

Finally, the challenge in regaining its role as a transformative tool for SMEs, a strategic industry for the country in "Reinvent Thailand," lies in the individual guarantee system. While SMEs previously offered this service, at that time, credit scoring tools were unavailable. Therefore, this relaunch is significantly different. SMEs now manage risk participation through a system that includes tools to measure the risk of SMEs in conjunction with the financial institutions providing loan guarantees.

“Today, TCG (Thailand Credit Guarantee Corporation) is transitioning from an organization that provides portfolio-based guarantees to one that provides individual loan guarantees, through the use of digital technology. It's shifting from being a backbone of banks to a creator of opportunities for SMEs, becoming the first-line advisor for SMEs. This is a change from the initial 'TCG Fast & First' approach to 'SMEs First & Fast,' reducing inequality and increasing opportunities for SMEs to access formal credit, reinforcing its role as a full-fledged SMEs' Gateway.”

Follow and read other columns in the Finance and Banking Journal, July 2569 issue, issue 531, in digital format: https://goo.gl/U6OnIi

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