UTSUNOMIYA, Tochigi Pref. Kyodo) Tochigi Gov. Akio Fukuda on Sunday blamed an auditor for the national government's decision to take control of Ashikaga Bank in his prefecture.
"A change in the auditing firm's policy is the main cause of the collapse," Fukuda told a news conference. "I want the Public Prosecutor's Office and the National Police Agency to investigate the auditing firm."
Fukuda made the comments a day after the government decided to put the regional lender under national control after finding it insolvent with a negative net worth of 102.3 billion yen as of Sept. 30.
Fukuda took issue with a refusal by ChuoAoyama Audit Corp. to recognize deferred tax assets as part of capital claimed by the bank under Ashikaga Financial Group Inc.
Deferred tax assets are future tax credits that can be counted as part of core bank capital called Tier One.
Ashikaga Financial Group said Saturday that Ashikaga Bank incurred an unconsolidated net loss of 186.2 billion yen in the six months to Sept. 30 mainly because the accounting firm refused to certify the accuracy of Ashikaga's estimated deferred tax asset amount.
Deferred tax assets are calculated on the basis of future earnings projections and business prospects.