OSAKA -- Kazuo Matsuda, who stepped down as president of major nonbank moneylender Nichiei Co. in February to take responsibility for a scandal over the firm's loan collection practices, will resign from its board of directors in June, industry sources said Sunday.
The decision by Matsuda, 77, to retire from Nichiei's management will be formally approved at a shareholders' meeting in late June, the sources said.
A Nichiei spokesman said, "(Matsuda's retirement from the board) is being discussed within the company, although no final decision has been made."
Matsuda quit as president after financial authorities ordered Nichiei in January to suspend operations at its head office in Kyoto and all 180 branches.
Since his son Ryuichi, 47, took over as president, Matsuda has maintained his presence as a member of the board of directors.
Financial authorities concluded in January the Kyoto-based company had engaged in coercive loan collection practices that often bordered on extortion, violating the money lending business law.
Of the 180 branches, the Tokyo and Chiba branches were slapped with a 90-day suspension, while the remaining 178 branches were suspended for a week.
Several Nichiei employees have been arrested on suspicion of using coercive methods to collect loans.