Bank of Thailand

• 1. Introduction

  ›

  The Bank of Thailand was established by royal act on the 28th of April 1942. At that moment, the Second World War was reshaping Southeast Asia. The new institution took on full responsibility for all central banking functions. Prince Vivadhanajaya became its first governor on the 27th of November 1942. Twenty-two governors would eventually hold that post. Their tenures trace Thailand's political and economic history across eight decades. The bank that opened in 1942 was not built from nothing. It inherited a functioning predecessor. And its legal foundations would be revised more than once in the decades ahead.

  36

• 2. From Bureau to Bank

  ›

  The Thai National Banking Bureau handled Thailand's central banking functions before the Bank of Thailand existed. Operations transferred when the bank formally opened on the 10th of December 1942. That founding legislation was not the final word. Over the following decades, it was amended to reflect the country's changing priorities. The most significant revision was the Bank of Thailand Act, B.E. 2551, which came into force on the 4th of March 2008. That update placed new emphasis on the bank's social responsibility. It created a mechanism designed to guard against economic crisis. And it established a decision-making process aimed at good governance and transparency. Across these legal revisions, the core mission remained unchanged. The bank exists to provide a stable financial environment for sustainable economic growth and an improving standard of living for Thailand's people. The role charged with carrying out that mission has its own demanding history.

  35

• 3. Governors and Governance

  ›

  Serm Vinicchayakul became the Bank of Thailand's second governor in October 1946. He was out of the post by November 1947 and would return for a second stint in 1952. Leng Srisomwongse served two separate terms as well, with the first lasting less than a year. Reaching the governorship requires three successive approvals: the Minister of Finance nominates, the Cabinet passes a resolution of approval, and the Monarch gives final sanction. Each term is capped at five years, with no more than two consecutive terms permitted.

  The seventh governor, Puey Ungphakorn, broke sharply from that pattern. He took office on the 11th of June 1959 and served until the 15th of August 1971. That run of more than twelve years stands out in a record otherwise marked by change. The fourteenth governor, Rerngchai Marakanond, offers a striking contrast. He took office on the 13th of July 1996 and left on the 28th of July 1997, barely a year in post. The eighteenth governor, Tarisa Watanagase, took office on the 8th of November 2006, becoming the first woman to lead the institution. She served until the 30th of September 2010. The current governor, Vitai Ratanakorn, took office on the 1st of October 2025. His term is expected to coincide with the launch of an international payment platform the bank helped found.

  65

• 4. Project Nexus

  ›

  On the 30th of June 2024, the Bank for International Settlements signed a founding agreement for Project Nexus. The Bank of Thailand was among the five central bank signatories. The other founding members included the Central Bank of Malaysia and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Reserve Bank of India completed the group. Bank Indonesia joined as a special observer. The goal is to interlink the domestic fast payment systems of the member countries. The aim is to make retail cross-border payments faster and more accessible for ordinary people. The platform was expected to go live by 2026. At that point, the Bank of Thailand will operate as a node in a transnational payments network spanning five Asian economies.

  4