TMBThanachart Bank Public Company Limited (SET: TTB) has announced a share repurchase program for 2025-2027 with a total budget of 21 billion baht. In the first round in 2025, TTB will repurchase no more than 3.5 billion shares (equivalent to 3.6% of total outstanding shares) with a total budget of no more than 7 billion baht.
This announcement implies an average price of THB2.00 per share, which is 4.7% higher than the closing price of TTB on Tuesday at THB1.91 per share. The program will start from February 3 to August 1.
The share repurchase is common in the market, however, the magnitude of the purchasing power from TTB is far exceeding other commercial banks that had done the same program in the past. In 2020, Kasikornbank Public Company Limited (SET: KBANK) announced a share repurchase program that accounted to 1% of its total outstanding shares, while Kiatnakin Phatra Bank Public Company Limited (SET: KKP) had also done the same last year for a total of 2.6% of its total outstanding shares.
According to Kiatnakin Phatra Securities, this is a positive momentum for TTB’s share price, and it can enable TTB’s 2025 RoE to improve by roughly 13 bps to 8.6% in 2025, while the CET-1 ratio will remain around 17%.
Additionally, the Board of Directors of TTB also resolved to approve the 2025 Employee Joint Investment Program (EJIP2025) to serve as a long-term incentive for employees which builds a sense of ownership in the organization, an employee retention tool, as well as an alternative to traditional compensation options.
The program is also not intended to allow directors or executives to interfere with the investment. Moreover, TTB stated that the bank will contribute 100%-750% of participating employee’s contributions with a total budget of 841 million baht.
