The Bank of Japan could offer longer-term funds in market operations and this would hopefully boost lending.
- BOJ will consider 2-year or longer lending for fixed-rate supply operations compared to 1-year currently
- Change intended to make it easier to buy Japanese govt bonds
- Some in BOJ concerned the step would hinter goal of guiding bank funds to stocks and lending
- Next BOJ meeting is June 11
It could also help to depress rates but a couple more basis points probably isn’t going to change much at Japanese banks or in the economy. What it shows is that the BOJ is relentless in its project to get the economy moving.