Thailand's fourth-largest bank says it will establish a commercial banking branch in Cambodia next year, Thai media reported on Saturday.

Kasikornbank is still submitting its application but aims to be established by the second quarter of 2015, its president Teeranun Srihong told the Nation newspaper.

Two Thai banks, Krung Thai Bank and Siam Commercial Bank, currently operate in the Kingdom.

Along with bilateral trade, Krasinkornbank’s Cambodia branch would focus on small businesses, as they are in “an area that has not yet been focused on by other foreign and local banks”, Srihong reportedly said.

Small Cambodian businesses suffer from high interest rates due to a lack of collateral and proper documentation, said Ly Visal, office manager of Federation of the Associations for Small and Medium Enterprises of Cambodia.

“It would be good if banks moved to focus on SMEs, especially the smaller ones.”