The collapse of Tokyo Sowa Bank was caused in part by the autocratic management of former chairman Shoichi Osada, the bank's administrators concluded in their report to financial authorities Friday.

The administrators, appointed by the Financial Reconstruction Commission following the second-tier regional bank's failure in June, said at a news conference that the bank's decision-making had been paralyzed by Osada, who presided as president and chairman for 30 years.

"The bank lacked a normal firm's procedure of referring important matters to board meetings and discussing them thoroughly," said Makoto Suzuki, a lawyer and an administrator of the bank. "Important decisions were made in a top-down style."

Osada resigned when the bank applied for liquidation in June.

The bank also lacked a proper risk management policy, and gave inappropriate financial favors to more than 10 firms it had an equity stake in, or with which it exchanged personnel, Suzuki said.

Suzuki said that "several" companies have shown an interest in taking over the bank's operations, noting that the bank hopes to avoid selling off its assets separately.

The administrators have decided to cancel a financial advisory contract signed in May between the bank and Bear, Stearns & Co., a U.S.-based investment banking and brokerage firm. They are now looking for potential buyers on their own, Suzuki said.

Tokyo Sowa, whose debts as of March 31 exceeded its assets by 102.2 billion yen, collapsed in June. Its final deficit is likely to be even larger.