Banks are set to be allowed into the securities business following a recommendation Wednesday by a government panel that banks and other financial institutions be given the ability to act as sales agents for brokerage houses.
The proposal, which would enable individual investors to buy stocks at bank outlets, is intended to spur the nation's securities market.
The Financial System Council, an advisory panel to the prime minister, made the recommendation in a report submitted to Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka on ways to reform the financial system with an eye to expanding individual investing in the stock market.