The Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan held its second news conference in two weeks Wednesday to again deny market rumors questioning the bank's soundness.
LTCB shares plunged on rumors that the bank needs to redeem roughly 1 trillion yen in bank debentures by the end of the month.
LTCB Vice President Masami Suda said the rumors are completely groundless and that the matter was reported to the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission as a possible case of diffusion of unfounded rumors.
Suda explained that the total amount of its debentures with a two-year maturity -- those mentioned in the rumors -- to be redeemed this month comes to about 100 billion yen, not an unusually large figure for the bank. "These rumors and the fall in our stock price are worrying our clients. I regret the situation, and we at the bank are very angry," he said.
As a result of the day's plunge, the price of LTCB stock at one time hit a record low of 105 yen and fell below that of the smallest of the three long-term credit banks, Nippon Credit Bank, at Wednesday's close.