Economic and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka said Sunday the government may decide by the end of March whether an additional public fund injection into major commercial banks is necessary.
"It is likely that the results of special inspections of banks (by financial authorities) will be available by March 31," Takenaka told a news conference, indicating that actions, including public fund injections, may be decided by that date. The Financial Services Agency is in the process of conducting special bank inspections.
If the ongoing inspections find that a bank's capital base would be seriously eroded by accelerated disposal of nonperforming loans, then the government should take action, such as nationalization, Takenaka said.