Shinsei Bank Ltd., the lender partly owned by J. Christopher Flowers, said it may expand lending by providing credit to people who reach their borrowing limits at consumer finance firms.
"We may provide loans to customers who exceeded the limit by conducting tighter screening," Masayuki Nankouin, the head of the bank's consumer finance business, said in an interview in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Shinsei will transfer its personal finance business to the bank from a subsidiary in October, the Tokyo-based bank said in June, avoiding regulations that only apply to consumer lenders. By making unsecured consumer loans directly, banks like Shinsei may create an additional ¥3 trillion in loan demand, according to Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Ltd.