Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has said the higher capital will enable BAAC to become a key mechanism of the government in bringing sustainable development to rural areas.

The financial injection will come form the Specialised Financial Institutions Development Fund.

Once the recapitalisation is complete, it will be able to lend as much as Bt240 billion.

Currently the bank has a registered capital of Bt56 billion. In the 2020 fiscal year, the finance ministry will inject Bt6 billion into the bank.

Its total capital will surge to Bt80 billion if it succeeds in raising capital by another Bt20 billion as planned.

Currently the bank has Bt1.5 trillion in outstanding loans.

But as shopping moves online and bricks-and-mortar spaces shrink, real estate brokers are on the hunt for new tenants to occupy a pair of adjacent flagship stores at 1530 and 1532 Broadway – one for Gap and one for its discount brand Old Navy.

There’s also space available at 30 Times Square, where beauty giant Coty Inc. opened its first-ever Cover Girl store a little more than a year ago, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Those come on top of a four-story flagship at 1551 Broadway that American Eagle Outfitters Inc. may depart.

“Some retail is just antiquated,” said Brett Herschenfeld, who oversees the retail unit of SL Green Realty Corp. It “hasn’t evolved with the times and they either fix it to the meet the consumer segment or they’re closing stores.”

While Times Square hasn’t been hit as hard as other neighborhoods by mushrooming vacancies, asking rents have slipped and some of the district’s largest merchants, including Toys “R” Us, have shuttered stores in recent years. Others are evaluating whether their outsized spaces are the best way to generate sales while giving shoppers the experiences they flock to the area for.

“The most successful approach to Times Square will be to think outside of the large box,” said Phil Granof, chief marketing officer of NewStore, operator of a mobile e-commerce platform that works with physical stores. “Breaking it down into smaller pieces, there might be more value there.”

San Francisco-based Gap Inc. has roughly 80,000 square feet at the two locations in Times Square, with leases that run through 2032, according to marketing materials seen by Bloomberg. Coty has about 10,000 square feet across five floors that is being marketed for sublease through 2021.

A representative for Coty declined to comment.

The buildings all come with massive digital billboards. But in an era when advertising has shifted to social media, companies are questioning the cost of pushing their wares in Times Square.

“The value that brands will pay for the exposure in Times Square on a permanent basis is under some pressure,” said Michael Hirschfeld, a retail broker at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. “A lot of mass-market types of consumer brands are now reaching you directly on your phones or Instagram.”

Gap Inc., on the hunt for a permanent chief executive officer after Art Peck was fired in November, is closing stores as it struggles to revitalize a label that has fallen out of step with shoppers. Old Navy has been a bright spot for the company, but that brand has also faced challenges in recent quarters, including increased competition from other discount chains.

While Times Square may be losing its luster for some companies, there’s still plenty of interest in the area from current and prospective tenants – and that shows how powerful it remains for retailers, according to Steven Soutendijk, a broker at Cushman & Wakefield.

“It’s not just about marketing and branding anymore,” he said. “It’s about the footfall and the shoppers that are there.”

This strong PPOP growth over 2018 was primarily driven by the recognition of extraordinary gains from the sale of SCB Life. Nevertheless, the bank also set aside higher provisions in 2019, resulting in the annual net profit (based on unaudited consolidated financial statements) of Bt40.4 billion. The bank also announced a special dividend of Bt0.75 per share to be paid out in mid-February.

Net interest income grew at 3 per cent (YoY) to Bt99.4 billion. Despite falling interest rates in 2019 and a slight decline in the overall portfolio size, the bank was able to sustain this growth momentum by rebalancing its loan portfolio towards higher margin products.

Non-interest income surged 59 per cent (YoY) to Bt66.7 billion mainly due to large investment gains from sale of SCB Life recorded in late September. Excluding this one-off item, non-interest income would have returned to its growth trajectory of 2 per cent (YoY) with improved recurring income and a new income stream from the bancassurance partnership that commenced in the fourth quarter.

Operating expenses grew at 9 per cent (YoY) to Bt70.5 billion mainly because of one-time personnel expenses to comply with the new labour law and transformation-related expenses. With the strong top-line growth of 20 per cent (YoY), cost-to-income ratio declined to 42.5 per cent.

The Non-performing loan (NPL) ratio rose to 3.41 per cent at the end of December 2019 from below 3 per cent in the first half of 2019. This deterioration reflected a challenging business environment as economic headwinds intensified in the second half of 2019 coupled with the bank’s prudent loan classification policy.

Given the current trend on asset quality as well as economic uncertainty, the bank has set aside total loan loss provisions of Bt36.2 billion for 2019. At the end of December 2019, NPL coverage was maintained at 134 per cent.

The bank’s capital adequacy ratio remained strong at 18.1 per cent. Therefore, following the sale of SCB Life shares, the board has approved a special dividend payment of Bt0.75 per share. The final dividend for 2019 will be reviewed and approved at the annual general meeting in April.

Arthid Nanthawithaya, chairman of the executive committee and CEO, said: “Given the current economic uncertainties the bank has proceeded with caution, especially in the area of loan growth, by focusing on high quality segments. With the expectation of moderate loan growth for the banking sector, the bank will continue to rebalance its loan portfolio towards higher-margin businesses with an emphasis on digital lending and wealth management, as well as improving efficiency and expense management. In addition, the bank is leveraging new capabilities from the transformation effort and working closely with various partners and leading fintech companies to build new business models that will enhance the bank’s long-term competitiveness.”