Finance Minister Hikaru Matsunaga on Monday again asked bankers not reduce their lending levels, especially to smaller businesses that are still healthy.
Matsunaga summoned Satoru Kishi, chairman of the Japan Federation of Bankers Associations and president of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Masao Nishimura, president of the Industrial Bank of Japan, and Atsushi Takahashi, president of Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., to his office to make the request.
During the meeting, Matsunaga explained that there are still concerns among Cabinet ministers and senior political leaders that the economy will not recover unless banks ease their stringent lending policies.
The banking leaders said they are making every effort to ensure that healthy businesses have access to funding and said it is regrettable there are still concerns of a credit crunch.
Many enterprises responding to a recent ministry survey said they feel that banks -- especially the nation's 19 major institutions -- are being stringent in their lending, despite a massive infusion of public funds meant to shore up their capital bases and increase lending ability.