The balance of outstanding bank loans dropped 3.7 percent in January from a year earlier, marking a 37th successive month of decline, according to a Bank of Japan preliminary report released Thursday.
The daily lending balance for the month came to an average 460.65 trillion yen, the report says.
Adjusted for special factors such as loan securitization, debt waivers and the allocation of loan-loss reserves, the lending balance fell 1.8 percent to 469.74 trillion yen, according to the report.