FSA to inspect struggling regional banks

October 21, 2017

TOKYO- Japan's Financial Services Agency is considering launching inspections of regional and second-tier regional banks that are struggling to raise profits from their lending and other core operations and facing difficulties promoting management reforms, it was learned Friday.

The business environment surrounding local lenders has been deteriorating faster than anticipated by the agency on the back of falling populations and rock-bottom interest rates reflecting the Bank of Japan's negative interest rate policy introduced in February 2016. Jiji Press