The opportunity to start up a truly Thai bank arose in the 1940s when local Thai businessmen found it difficult to get credit facilities from foreign banks, which then dominated the financial sector. In response to their needs, Bangkok Bank was set up. After it began trading in 1944, it enjoyed strong support from local businesses and grew rapidly. Not content to be a niche player, the Bank rapidly expanded by offering new kinds of services. It came to be the dominant player in Thailand - the bank which was used by all leading companies.

 

Innovation and sensitivity to customers' needs has always been the key to Bangkok Bank's success. It has maintained its commitment to innovative expansion and development, despite a sometimes turbulent economic and political climate which has included a succession of military coups and a massive regional financial crisis in the late 1990s.

 

Before the Second World War, foreign bank branches dominated the financial sector in Thailand.  However, as a result of the Japanese occupation of Thailand, foreign banks owned by American or European companies were closed, leaving a vacuum of capable banks in the Thai economy.

 

This proved to be an opportunity for a group of Thai courtiers, businessmen and others who were determined to build a Thai bank which would provide a full range of banking services for Thai people.  On 20th November 1944, Bangkok Bank was officially registered as an institution.

 

The Bank began its operations as Bangkok Bank Co., Ltd on December 1, 1944.  The newly formed institution had 23 staff members who worked in the offices of two adjacent shop houses in the Chinatown area of Bangkok.  The first  President of the Bank, Luang Roprukit, helped to build the customer base through personalized customer service and the active fostering of production and trade which was being rebuilt after the war.

 

From 1952 to 1977 the second President of Bangkok Bank, Mr. Chin Sophonpanich developed the Bank further. As a result of his leadership the Bank came to play a significant role in Thailand's economic development.

 

Under Mr. Chin's direction the Bank's branch network was expanded into rural areas. Thailand is richly endowed with mineral and agricultural products and during the 50s and 60s this led to a booming export trade, in which Bangkok Bank played an active support role.  Bangkok Bank became the first Thai commercial bank to provide specialist trade finance services, including the provision of its own letters of credit.

 

Having built up strong foundations in Thailand, the next step for Bangkok Bank was to build a major presence in the Asia Pacific region. In June 1954 the Bank opened its first overseas branch in Hong Kong. Another branch opened in Tokyo the following year, and in Singapore shortly after that.  Since most of the country's trade was conducted through these countries, the Bank was able to provide a complete circle of trading services.

 

Mr. Boonchu Rojanasatien was the third President of Bangkok Bank. He was President from 1977 until 1980 when he left the Bank for the world of politics to become the Deputy Prime Minister. It was a period of slow economic growth, but far from allowing the Bank to stagnate,  Mr. Boonchu introduced change and reform in order to modernize the Bank and bring its systems in line with international practices. His initiatives included a strong policy to develop human resources within the Bank and ongoing personnel development for the staff.

 

Mr. Chatri Sophonpanich was at the helm of the Bank from 1980 until 1992.  Mr Chatri led Bangkok Bank through what proved to be a golden era in which the Bank's net profit increased 12-fold.  It was the first time a Thai commercial bank had made a net profit of over Baht 10,000 million in one year. Bangkok Bank became the largest company in Thailand and was listed among the top 200 banks in the world.

 

In 1992 Dr. Vichit Suraphongchai became the new president of Bangkok Bank. This was during a period of major change, with "young rising stars" being appointed to the top position at five of the major commercial banks in Thailand. Prior to becoming President, Dr. Vichit had been an executive of the Bank for 15 years and made a strong contribution in many areas, including international banking.

 

 

When Dr. Vichit stepped down in 1994, Mr. Chartsiri Sophonpanich, the elder son of Mr. Chatri, was elected as the President of Bangkok Bank. 

 

Only three years after Mr.Chartsiri took office, a 30 year economic boom came suddenly to an end with the Asian financial crisis of 1997. The trigger for the crisis was a massive and sudden fall in the level of the Thai Baht. This occurred after it came under speculative attack, forcing the Government to abandon exchange controls enabling the currency to float freely. Financial institutions collapsed all over Asia. The survivors were handicapped by a legacy of bad debts as more than half their major customers had found themselves in financial difficulty. Expansion and growth gave way to years of  hardship and economic contraction. 

 

Despite this difficult environment,  Mr. Chartsiri Sophonpanich has turned crisis into opportunity and introduced numerous initiatives to rebuild the sound financial fundamentals of the Bank and to place the Bank at the forefront of customer service and technology innovation.

 

From humble beginnings in 1944, Bangkok Bank is now the largest commercial bank in Thailand. It operates some of the most advanced computer technology in the region, and has approximately US$43 billion in total assets.

 

Today the bank has an overseas network of 19 branches, one wholly owned subsidiary and one representative office. There are branches in London and New York complementing the Bank's extensive network in South East Asia. In Thailand the Bank has the strongest branch and electronic network in the country with around 3,100 ATM machines and over 730 branches.