DARANA CHUDASRI

Krung Thai Bank wants to overhaul the board of subsidiary Krungthai Asset Management to have the fund manager better support the bank's retail banking initiatives.

KTB president Apisak Tantivorawong said that the bank currently had only one representative on the KTAM board, despite having a 99.99% shareholding in the asset manager.

He declined to comment about the recent dismissal of KTAM chief executive Sripop Sarasas for violating company policies.

''This is an issue that was decided by the KTAM board. It certainly wasn't an issue imposed by the bank,'' Mr Apisak said.

''The selection process for a new chief executive is already under way, with the final decision to be made by the KTB board. What we can do, as the major shareholder, is communicate through the board.''

Mr Apisak said KTB had tried to restructure the KTAM board several times to increase its representation at the company by appointing qualified bank executives as directors.

But efforts have been frustrated by regulations set by the Securities and Exchange Commission restricting executives of financial institutions from serving as board members due to potential conflicts of interest.

As a result, Mr Apisak said KTB was trying to impress its strategic goals in the asset management field on the existing KTAM board members.

''We would in fact like to increase the number of our directors. It could be bank executives or outsiders. What is important is that they are people who understand [KTB's] objectives and able to put the policies into practice,'' he said.

According to the Association of Investment Management Companies, KTAM had 128.8 billion baht in assets under management across 73 funds as of mid-August, ranking sixth in the industry with a market share of 8.77%.

KTAM reported 2006 profits of 33.52 million baht on revenues of 269.41 million, down slightly from 2005 earnings of 40.89 million baht on revenues of 239.91 million.

Mr Apisak said he wanted KTAM to serve as a key channel to help serve the bank's customers.