The Financial Reconstruction Commission formally decided Friday afternoon to inject 7.46 trillion yen in public funds into 15 major banks to boost their capital bases.
The money will be disbursed by the end of this month to enable the banks to write off some 9 trillion yen in bad loans for the year ending March 31.
"Internationally operating banks will basically finish writing off their nonperforming loans in fiscal 1998," said Hakuo Yanagisawa, the Cabinet minister chairing the five-member FRC. "We are convinced that the capital buildup will recover confidence here and abroad in the nation's financial system."