Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. collected billions of yen in loans it had made to Morimoto Corp., a midsize general contractor, one day before the Osaka-based firm filed for protection under the Civil Rehabilitation Law last fall, sources close to the case said Sunday.

Sumitomo Mitsui is the main creditor bank of Morimoto, whose former top executives have been arrested on suspicion of window-dressing the company's earnings reports.

Morimoto's court-appointed administrator later urged Sumitomo Mitsui to return the money, charging that the bank took advantage of its close ties with the firm to collect its loans ahead of other creditors, the sources said.