Japanese businesses sought ¥7.5 trillion ($90 billion) in loans from the nation's largest banks, including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., to cope with last month's record earthquake and tsunami.
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. received applications for about ¥2.5 trillion in loans, said Shinya Matsumoto, a spokesman for the unit of Japan's biggest bank. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. got requests for about the same amount, according to spokeswomen for the lenders.
The March 11 temblor and subsequent nuclear crisis disrupted power and supply chains, prompting companies, including Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., to cut production at home and abroad. Large companies seeking funds to support subcontractors and affiliates with working capital are probably driving loan demand, according to Hidenori Suezawa, chief strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. in Tokyo.