The operations of state-owned Nippon Credit Bank will be transferred to a consortium led by Softbank Corp. on Sept. 1, the government confirmed Tuesday.
Financial Reconstruction Commission Chairman Hideyuki Aizawa reported the plan and received the approval of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, government official said.
During their meeting, Tuesday afternoon, they also confirmed that no changes will be made to a controversial clause stipulating that the government will buy back loans whose value diminished by more than 20 percent within three years.
The clause, which invited fierce criticism from opposition parties, led the FRC to postpone the NCB transfer by a month and prompted Mori to order a review of the contract, which had already been signed by that time.
With Tuesday's move, however, the prime minister has effectively given his official endorsement to the plan.