Japan considers lowering deposit insurance rate for top banks - Nikkei
27/08/2019 07:11
TOKYO, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Japan is looking to lower the
deposit insurance rate for leading banks in a move to drive
further consolidation among regional lenders as they struggle
with a shrinking population and ultra-easy monetary policy, the
Nikkei reported on Tuesday.
The Financial Services Agency (FSA), Japan's financial
watchdog, is expected to announce the change this week and plans
to implement the new policy as early as fiscal 2021, according
to the Nikkei report.
The FSA declined to comment on the report.
All domestic financial institutions are currently required
to reserve a deposit insurance fee of 0.033% to hedge against
bankruptcy. With the change, the FSA would require different
rates depending on a bank's financial health, measured by
factors such as the size of its core capital.
Years of near-zero interest rates have made traditional
banking barely profitable in Japan, prompting dozens of regional
banks to form partnerships and consolidate.
(Reporting by Takashi Umekawa, Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and
Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
((Takashi.Umekawa@thomsonreuters.com;))