SCB aims for 20% in card spending

       Siam Commercial Bank aims to raise its share of credit card spending to 20% this year and will shift its marketing focus to encouraging card spending over extending its card base.
       Spending via SCB's credit cards currently accounts for 18-19% of the total card market, up from 16% at the end of last year.
       SCB expects to hit a 20% market share by the year-end, taking the industry's top spot, said Rungruang Sukkirdkijpiboon, an SCB executive vice-president.
       Spending via SCB's credit card is currently about 10 billion baht per month, up from 8 billion last year, bolstered by the bank's marketing campaigns as well as improvements in the economy.
       After plummeting in the first quarter of this year with the downturn, the credit card market has picked up from the second quarter. Bankers expect spending will further improve in line with better economic signs and seasonal factors.
       Economic recovery would support the credit card business overall, and credit card spending is expected to edge up this year from last year.
       SCB will concentrate on boosting spending rather than enlarging its card base under the current economic climate. The bank will aim to maintain about 1.8 million cards, the industry's largest base, throughout this year.
       The bank's normal credit-card cancellation rate is between 5% and 10% of all cards, due to inactive cards, customers' dissatisfaction and non-performing loan problems. SCB's distressed debt is 2% of total outstanding loans of 23 billion baht and its delinquency rate is about 4%.
       The bank yesterday launched the Beyond Platinum Card to capture the upper market segment earning at least 100,000 baht per month. With the high-end card's benefits, SCB targets issuing 60,000 cards within the first year and 100,000 in the next three year.