The Tokyo District Court on Friday sentenced three former executives of the defunct Nippon Credit Bank to suspended prison terms for window dressing financial statements to conceal 160 billion yen in bad loans.

Former NCB Chairman Hiroshi Kubota, 72, former President Shigeoki Togo, 60, and former Vice President Tadao Iwaki, 66, were found guilty of concealing 159.2 billion yen in bad loans and submitting a false financial report to the Finance Ministry's regional bureau in March 1998, thereby violating the Securities and Exchange Law.

Presiding Judge Satoru Hattori said the executives were responsible for inappropriately shelving the disposal of bad loans and effectively bankrupting borrowers.