GSB has evolved over a century to become a symbol of banking excellence and social impact in Thailand.
Established on 1 April, 1913, as a “Savings Office” by His Majesty King Vajiravudh, King Rama VI, the Government Savings Bank (“GSB”) was created with the primary aim of providing a secure place for people to safeguard their money and assets while introducing banking services and promoting savings to the Thai population. In 1946, under the reign of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, King Rama IX, the bank was officially designated as the “Government Savings Bank.” It was tasked with a comprehensive set of functions, including receiving savings deposits, issuing savings bonds and premium savings certificates, handling deposits for life and family needs, facilitating payment and money transfers, trading Thai Government bonds, making strategic investments, and engaging in various savings-related activities determined by Royal Decree. Additionally, the bank is authorized to partake in activities considered banking businesses according to Royal Decrees, subject to stipulated conditions outlined in Ministerial Regulations.
Since 2020, the Bank has played a crucial role as a Social Bank, focusing on reducing inequality and ensuring fair access to capital for the public. It’s noteworthy as the first government-owned financial institution in Thailand to set corporate goals aimed at maximizing positive impacts while minimizing negative effects on the economy, society, and the environment. The Bank has crafted an Enterprise Plan for 2022 – 2026 to guide its transformation into a full-fledged Social Bank, emphasizing equality and fairness.
The GSB Sustainability Approach consists of four main elements: maximizing positive impact, strengthening the government policies, optimizing resources, and prioritizing trust and transparency. GSB’s strategy involves promoting savings, encouraging financial discipline, creating career opportunities, generating income, and enhancing financial literacy, particularly for underprivileged communities. The Bank has also implemented environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) frameworks to ensure long-term sustainability by supporting responsible businesses, adhering to environmental guidelines, supporting entrepreneurs who follow Bio-Circular-Green Economy (“BCG”) Model guidelines with loans linked to the new BCG Model, and evaluating its eco-efficiency in combating climate change.
GSB identifies its main economic, environmental, and social (“EES”) impact areas, including financial access, financial literacy, eco-efficiency, governance, circular economy, business ethics, and more, by following international standards, frameworks, and best practices like the United Nation’s (“UN”) Sustainable Development Goals and UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative’s Principles of Responsible Banking. GSB engages with stakeholders to prioritize these issues based on their significance and impact. The bank actively manages EES risks and opportunities by integrating Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) principles into its operations, focusing on areas like strategic risk, market risk, liquidity risk, credit risk, and operational risk.
GSB is committed to integrating EES considerations into its products and services, and strives to reduce environmental impacts through eco-efficiency measures, green procurement, and circular economy practices. It embeds social missions into its commercial offerings, serving grassroots entrepreneurs and fostering financial inclusion. Initiatives like the “GSB Job Creation Loan” support small businesses, and loans based on the BCG Model promote a green economy. Through its “Commercial Mission for Social Mission,” GSB aims to lower market interest rates, monitoring its impact in every project.
From 2020 to 2022, GSB contributed over 55.4 billion Thai Baht to more than 50 projects benefiting 16 million people. It promotes financial literacy through initiatives like School Banks and Digital School Banks. GSB’s Yuwaphat Rakthin Project works with university students to enhance local wisdom and community development, while the Lunch for Students Project teaches farming skills and raise livestocks that can be used for food while providing them lunches through sustainable farming. The Holistic Area-based Development Project focuses on improving various aspects of rural life, including education, healthcare, infrastructure, and job creation in remote villages.
