The COVID-19 pandemic, which was ongoing in 2021, has had a severe impact on people and the business sector broadly. As a result, Krungthai Bank continues to focus on collaborating with various parties to provide assistance to customers and those affected by the pandemic. The Bank also acts as a key mechanism to effectively deliver government assistance measures to all people and the grass root economy by leveraging technology and innovation developed by the Bank.

       The COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered the country's vulnerability in various dimensions, including inequality in income, savings, and an access to economic opportunities. Negligence to the issue of environment and climate protection is also getting more prominent while this issue is increasingly becoming a global trend. Therefore, the Bank has paid more attention on sustainable business operations or “Krungthai Sustainability” in accordance with the "Environment, Society, and Governance" (ESG) framework. This involves supporting fair business competition and enhancing long-term competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and micro businesses to achieve stable growth. With the determination to continuously conduct our business responsibly and with good governance, the Bank has gained recognition and trust from various parties, as evidenced by 38 international and national awards granted to the Bank in 2021. For instance, the Bank was granted with the "Most Sustainable Bank, Thailand 2021" Award from World Economic Magazine (USA), the "Bank of the Year 2021 in Thailand" Award from The Banker Magazine (England), the "Best Bank Awards 2021 in the category of Best Digital Bank – Thailand" from Asiamoney Magazine (Hong Kong), the "Best Digital Banking Service of the Year Award" from Business+ Magazine, the "Sustainability Disclosure Award 2021" from Thaipat Institute, and the Royal Award for "Thailand Corporate Excellence Awards 2021 in the category of Product/Service Excellence" by the Thailand Management Association (TMA).

       However, the future business environment is highly unpredictable. To ensure that the Bank still meets the needs of customers and stakeholders, the Board of Directors continues to encourage employees at all levels to improve working method by thinking outside the box, implementing new processes in line with the new normal context, and enhancing their digital literacy through upskilling and reskilling to keep up with the digital age and be able to seamlessly integrate and utilize technologies. Additionally, the agility working approach has also been emphasized, consistent with the Bank’s business models that goes towards a fully digital bank. The Bank also needs to accelerate productivity improvement, integration of work processes in the end-to-end approach, along with cultivating a DNA of zero tolerance to corruption for employees. These shall be done continuously and intensively and will require all employees to work together to enable the change from within. In this regard, the Board of Directors continues to emphasize the importance of good governance in the organization. It is believed that such principle will be the cornerstone that empowers the Bank to grow sustainably, have immunity against risks and uncertainties, and get ready to adapt to the changing trends of dynamic environment, as well as supporting Thai society to grow on a sustainable basis.

       On behalf of the Board of Directors, executives, employees and subsidiaries of the Bank, I would like to express my gratitude to shareholders, business partners and customers from the private and public sector for always giving trust and confidence to Krungthai Bank. I sincerely hope that the Bank will continue to receive your support for a long time to come.

Mr. Krisada Chinavicharana
Chairman of the Board of Directors

       In 2021, the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic has stalled Thailand’s economic recovery and left financial position of households and some business sectors fragile, especially in tourism-related sectors and those based on domestic demand. Hence, Krungthai Bank has continued to support customers and entrepreneurs so that they are able to overcome this major crisis. Together with the banking sector, the Bank has provided assistance measures for improving liquidity and restoring customers’ business operation. Such measures include debt moratorium and debt restructuring in a sustainable and fair manner, that aligns with the Bank of Thailand’s policy. Moreover, the Bank has been recognized for the dedication of its service network, technology, and personnel in delivering government assistance to the Thai people via several projects such as "Khon La Khrueng" (Let's Go Halves) co-payment scheme, “Rao Tiew Duay Kan” (We travel together) scheme, "Rao Chana" (We Win) project, Section 33: We Love Each Other project, and the Ying Chai Ying Dai (the more you spend, the more you get) campaign. In addition, the Bank also took part in "Thai Ruam Jai" project by setting up more than 129 out-of-hospital vaccination service stations nationwide. All these efforts follow the Bank’s determination to improve the quality of life and enhance financial equality for Thai people. These thus reflect our intention to go “Beyond Banking” that aligns with our new mission “To empower better life for all Thais”, as well as the Bank’s sustainable development goals that are in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

       Our relentless efforts to develop digital platforms have enabled deliveries of government assistances to the target groups quickly, effectively, and with transparency. The platforms can also be leveraged to provide services that respond to new behaviors and demands in the new normal era in a timely manner. The Bank takes into account the 5 Ecosystems as our main business target. For Government Agency ecosystem, the Bank supports the government in implementing projects such as the State Welfare Card scheme with currently more than 13 million cardholders, the 1-Baht Bond via SBM wallet which allows people to have savings in government bonds with a minimum purchase of 100 Baht, as well as other aforementioned government projects. For Payment ecosystem, our work includes new features and services of Krungthai NEXT application, the Krungthai Gold Wallet which provides full-fledged online gold trading service. The Bank also launched PTTEP digital bonds, the first bond in Asia traded via a digital wallet, reflecting our readiness to expand digital footprint in response to new demands in the future world. For Healthcare ecosystem, our Smart Hospital system is where complete services are provided through the use of technologies, such as an automatic physical examination machines, intelligent AI Chat Bot to help screen patients using voice command system, telemedicine for providing consultation with specialist through a VDO Conference system, etc. This also includes the development of new functions and services of Health Wallet to enhance health promotion and disease prevention. Likewise, Educational Institution ecosystem is represented with Smart University projects and various services of Student Loan Fund which can be accessed via Pao Tang application. Lastly, for Transportation ecosystem, the Bank develops a cashless fare payment system for various public transport systems. By means of connecting the dot, the Bank has executed the X2G2X strategy by using G or the government as the center and connecting each anchor point to the 5 ecosystems with the Digital Platform, in order to expand the business from our customers’ partners, leading to revenue generation for the Bank (Monetization). At present, the Bank is becoming a leader in the digital banking system. The current number of users on the Bank's digital platform is among the highest, reaching over totally 40 million users from both Pao Tang and Krungthai NEXT application (increasing from about 3 million KTB Netbank users during the past 4-5 years). On top of this, there are over 1.5 million stores registered in Thung Ngern application and over 16 million users in Krungthai Connext.

       For the year 2022, the economy is recovering, although it is still fragile and the recovery is not so inclusive. The competitive environment in the financial system has also changed drastically, bringing challenges caused by disruptions from all directions. In particular, changes in consumer behavior and new financial innovations as cryptocurrency, digital assets and DeFi or Decentralized Finance, have enforced the Bank to adjust its business model and manage resources with flexibility. This will also allow the Bank to adapt and learn new skills in an agile manner even under uncertainty. Therefore, the Bank determines to continue driving the 2 Banking Models strategy, Carrier and Speed Boat under the 5 Execution Pillars action plan, with greater intensity and courage to change. The Pillars start with 1) Sustain Core Growth. This will enable our core business to grow with quality and sustainability, and becomes integrated to people’s everyday life and cover all their needs. The Bank shall focus more on lending through online platforms in order to provide retail customers with more convenient and comprehensive access to financial services. Business lending will focus on industries on an upward trend, and funding to support customers’ transition towards Net-Zero Emission and BCG Economy (Bio-Circular-Green Economy). 2) Build New Business Model. The Bank will look for new business opportunities via Infinitas by Krungthai Co., Ltd., which is mandated to providing Innovation & Digital Platform development services to generate new revenues in line with Mega Trends. At the end of last year, Infinitas by Krungthai Co. Ltd., on behalf of the Bank and in collaboration with Accenture Solutions Co., Ltd., established a joint venture company, Arise by Infinitas Co. Ltd., to build up “Digital Talents” to support the business expansion plans of the Bank and its partners. 3) X2G2X or business extension with the government as the center. The Bank shall expand business with customers' partners and shall play a role in connecting financial services to everyday activities related to the 5 ecosystems through Digital Connectivity. 4) Digitization. The Bank will minimize the use of paper as well as adjust internal processes and systems through the application of technologies such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and AI, which will reduce costs and increase efficiency in our operation. Lastly, 5) Krungthai Sustainability. The Bank will continue to emphasize on applying ESG (Environmental, social and governance) principles to drive the Sustainable Krungthai initiative through various projects i.e., One Unit, One Sustainability Plan, the Compliance Champion Project, and the Krungthai Hackathon Project, etc. Furthermore, the Bank will place great emphasis on maintaining financial stability under a highly uncertain environment by leveraging on available tools such as the Bank of Thailand's debt restructuring via asset warehousing measures, and by setting aside a sufficiently high level of provision in order to manage the NPL cliff effectively.

       Employee development is another mission that the Bank places emphasis on. The Bank will continue to promote the employees’ courage to change and support upskill/reskill trainings, especially in innovation, creativity, and design thinking. These will elevate the organization’s capabilities to respond to the future of work trend. The Bank has also promoted a working model based on Formula 1 culture, consisting of the concepts “Integration”, “Agility”, “Reliability”, “Accuracy”, and “Security”. Moreover, the Bank will also focus on building synergy with companies in the business group and partners to jointly develop products and services that cover the main activities in daily lives of customers.

       Through the implementation of the aforementioned strategic plans and action plans, the Bank shall continue to be a leading commercial bank that satisfies all needs of stakeholders, empowering better life for all Thais by reducing inequalities in the access to basic necessities in the digital economy and narrowing the income distribution gap. At the same time, the Bank shall continue to cooperate with our partners to be a crucial mechanism to drive the country toward the future digital economy with stability and sustainability.

Mr. Payong Srivanich
President