Bank of Thailand

Bank of Thailand ธนาคารแห่งประเทศไทย (ธปท.)
Seal of the Bank of Thailand
Headquarters	Bangkok, Thailand
Governor	Prasarn Trairatvorakul
Central bank of	Kingdom of Thailand
Currency	Thai Baht
ISO 4217 Code	THB
Website	www.bot.or.th

The Bank of Thailand (Thai: ธนาคารแห่งประเทศไทย) is the central bank of Thailand.

History

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) was first set up as the Thai National Banking Bureau. The Bank of Thailand Act was promulgated on 28 April 1942 vesting upon the Bank of Thailand the responsibility for all central banking functions. The Bank of Thailand started operations on 10 December 1942.

The Bank of Thailand Act, B.E.2485 was later amended in order to put emphasis on BOT’s social responsibility, to create a mechanism to guard against economic crisis, as well as to set up BOT’s decision making process to ensure good governance and transparency in the organization. Moreover, members of the public will be able to audit and increase the understanding of the BOT’s operations. The Bank of Thailand Act, B.E.2551 came into force with effect from 4 March 2008.

List of Governors of the Bank of Thailand

1. H.H.Prince Vivadhanajaya (27 Nov.1942 - 16 Oct. 1946)
2. Mr. Serm Vinicchayakul (17 Oct. 1946 - 24 Nov. 1947)
3. Mr.Leng Srisomwongse (25 Nov.1947 - 2 Sept.1948)
4. H.H.Prince Vivadhanajaya (3 Sept.1948 - 2 Dec.1948)
5. Mr.Leng Srisomwongse (3 Dec.1948 - 3 Aug.1949)
6. M.L.Dej Snidvongs (4 Aug.1949 - 29 Feb.1952)
7. Mr.Serm Vinicchayakul (1 Mar. 1952 - 24 Jul. 1955)
8. Mr.Kasem Sriphayak (25 Jul. 1955 - 23 Jul. 1958)
9. Mr. Jote Guna-Kasem (24 Jul. 1958 - 3 May 1959)
10. Dr. Puey Ungphakorn (11 Jun. 1959 - 15 Aug. 1971)
11. Mr.Bisudhi Nimmanhaemin (16 Aug. 1971 - 23 May 1975)
12. Mr.Snoh Unakul (24 May 1975 - 31 Oct. 1979)
13. Mr.Nukul Prachuabmoh (1 Nov. 1979 - 13 Sep. 1984)
14. Mr.Kamchorn Sathirakul (14 Sep. 1984 - 5 Mar. 1990)
15. Mr.Chavalit Thanachanan (6 Mar. 1990 - 30 Sep. 1990)
16. Mr.Vijit Supinit (1 Oct. 1990 - 1 Jul. 1996)
17. Mr.Rerngchai Marakanond (13 Jul. 1996 - 28 Jul. 1997)
18. Mr.Chaiyawat Wibulswasdi (31 Jul. 1997 - 4 May 1998)
19. M.R.Chatu Mongol Sonakul (7 May 1998 - 30 May 2001)
20. M.R.Pridiyathorn Devakula (31 May 2001 - 6 Oct. 2006)
21. Mrs.Tarisa Watanagase (8 Nov. 2006 - 30 Sep. 2010)
22. Mr.Prasarn Trairatvorakul (1 Oct. 2010 - Present)

Roles and Responsibilities

The bank of Thailand's mission is to provide a stable financial environment for sustainable economic growth in order to achieve continuous improvement in the standard of living of the people of Thailand.

It defines its roles as:^[1]

1. Print and issue banknotes and other security documents
2. Promote monetary stability and formulate monetary policies
3. Manage the BOT’s assets
4. Provide banking facilities to the government and act as the registrar for the government bonds
5. Provide banking facilities for the financial institutions
6. Establish or Support the establishment of payment system
7. Supervise and examine the financial institutions
8. Manage the country’s foreign exchange rate under the foreign exchange system and manage assets in the currency reserve according to the Currency Act
9. Control the foreign exchange according to the exchange control act

Since May 2000, the bank has targeted inflation, replacing money supply as the core of its monetary policy. Its current target for core inflation is 0%-3.5%.

Interest rates are designated by the Monetary Policy Committee, which comprises three officials from the Bank of Thailand and four other experts.

See also

• Thai baht
• Ministry of Finance (Thailand)
• Economy of Thailand
• Bank of Thailand Museum

References

1. ^ http://www.bot.or.th/English/AboutBOT/index/Pages/RolesAndResponsibilities.aspx

External links

• Official website