INTERVIEW: FSA Eager to Back Regional Bank Realignment

Tokyo, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Financial Services Agency Commissioner Yutaka Ito has expressed eagerness to support the realignment of regional banks to enhance financial services in Japan.

“We will do our best to support consolidations and mergers if they contribute to the provision of high-quality regional financial services,” Ito said in a recent interview.

Ito, who took office in July, stressed that cooperation with nonfinancial businesses is also crucial for the management of regional lenders.

“In order to make the management foundation sustainable, options such as reorganization, standardization of operations and collaboration with nonfinancial businesses should be considered,” he said.

Although financial institutions’ profits are improving thanks to interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan, the environment surrounding such institutions “will change rapidly from now on,” Ito said, claiming that they “need to make management decisions now.”

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]