TOKYO (MNI) – Japanese corporate demand for financing via bank
loans marked the first on-quarter drop in October-December, reflecting
weaker business investment, but it is expected to rebound three months
ahead, a senior loan office survey by the Bank of Japan released Monday
showed.
The BOJ’s index for corporate fund demand, which is calculated by
subtracting the number of banks reporting a decline in lending from the
number reporting an increase, fell to -2 in the final quarter of 2011
from zero in July-September, when it rose from -5 in April-June.
The index is expected to rise to +3 in the next three months, the
quarterly survey showed.
Loan officers cited lower business investment as the top reason for
the decline in funding demand in October-December, according to the
survey conducted from Dec. 9 to Jan. 12.
Last time the index was in positive territory was in January-March
2011, when it stood at +8.
The index for demand from major companies stood at -2, unchanged
from the previous quarter, while the index for small businesses fell to
-3 from +1.
The BOJ’s senior loan officer index surged to a record high of +43
in the final quarter of 2008 from -5 in the previous quarter as
corporate financing conditions worsened sharply after the collapse of
Lehman Brothers and the resulting financial crisis hurt companies’
ability to borrow directly from financial markets.
tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4833 **
[TOPICS: M$J$$$,M$A$$$,MMJBJ$,MAJDS$]
