{"id":108120,"date":"2021-01-12T01:07:26","date_gmt":"2021-01-12T01:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=108120"},"modified":"2021-01-12T01:07:26","modified_gmt":"2021-01-12T01:07:26","slug":"update-1-japan-bank-lending-deposits-keep-rising-in-dec-as-pandemic-strains-persist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/update-1-japan-bank-lending-deposits-keep-rising-in-dec-as-pandemic-strains-persist\/","title":{"rendered":"UPDATE 1-Japan bank lending, deposits keep rising in Dec as pandemic strains persist"},"content":{"rendered":"
* Dec bank lending up 6.2% yr\/yr to new record – BOJ data<\/p>\n
* Total deposits surge as companies pile up cash<\/p>\n
* Some firms holding back on capex, cutting costs – BOJ official (Recasts with milestone, details on loan increase and context on deposits)<\/p>\n
TOKYO, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Japanese bank lending continued to rise in December to hit a fresh record, data showed on Tuesday, as companies kept piling up cash to weather the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
Outstanding loans held by the country\u2019s four main categories of banks, including \u201cshinkin\u201d or credit unions, rose 6.2% in December from a year earlier to a record 577.6 trillion yen ($5.5 trillion), Bank of Japan data showed.<\/p>\n
Total deposits at the banks also surged 9.3% to a record 802.9 trillion yen, as some companies parked the money they borrowed in their accounts for the time being, the data showed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome companies were holding back on capital expenditure and cutting fixed costs,\u201d which was also behind the increase in deposits, a BOJ official told a briefing.<\/p>\n
Aside from lending, commercial banks were using the money from the huge deposits to increase purchases of short-term securities and government bonds, the official said.<\/p>\n
The BOJ eased monetary policy twice last year to cushion the economic blow from COVID-19, including by creating a new lending facility aimed at channeling funds to cash-strapped firms via financial institutions.<\/p>\n
While lending by cash-strapped firms has peaked, the government\u2019s decision to impose new state of emergency curbs to prevent the spread of the virus has clouded the outlook for the world\u2019s third-largest economy.<\/p>\n