Likelihood of government support due to the bank's high systemic importance. Strong franchise as the second-largest commercial bank in Thailand. Evolving risk management practices. Moderate capitalization. The stable outlook on Krung Thai Bank Public Co. Ltd. (KTB) reflects our expectation that the deterioration in the bank's asset quality will be manageable over the next 12-18 months. We therefore expect the bank to maintain its financial profile over the period. We could lower the rating if KTB's asset quality deteriorates sharply, such that it is materially weaker than the industry average. The bank's nonperforming loan (NPL) ratio of 4.2% as of Sept. 30, 2016, is already higher than the industry average and that of other large peers. A widening of the
