A survey by National Life Finance Corporation revealed that the financing conditions of small firms, and their perception of the lending attitudeof financial institutions both of which had been lagging behind compared to larger firms, were starting to improve.
Against the background of financial institutions' active lending attitude and favorable issuing conditions for corporate bonds, total credit(measured as a ratio to GDP) has been increasing. In this environment, the corporate sector has been maintaining an active business fixed investment stance, supported by an expectation of improved corporate profits.
Financial institutions' lending attitudes as perceived by large as well as small firms, in addition to the financial positions of both sets of firms, have been on an improving trend. The levels of various DIs have been above the average for the period since 2000.
Funding conditions for firms are extremely favorable; according to the June 2014 Tankan, which was released at the beginning of July, firms' perception of financial institutions' lending attitude and financial positions of firms improved, including those for small firms.
However, the fund-raising conditions of firms with high credit risks, especially of small firms, are gradually becoming more severe as the stance of investors toward taking credit risks remains severe and the lending attitudes of private banks are becoming more cautious.
The lending attitude of financial institutions to firms and households deteriorated, and this negative sentiment among economic entities had a detrimental effect on economic activity, giving rise to an adverse feedback loop among the fiscal situation, the financial system, and economic activity.
Reserve Requirement System as a Monetary Policy Tool In the past, under the reserve requirement system, the operation to shift the reserve requirement ratios was an effective method to ease or tighten monetary conditions by influencing the lending attitude of financial institutions through the increase and decrease of their cost burden.
From the viewpoint of either large or small enterprises, the lending attitudes of financial institutions have become very proactive. In terms of the DI in the Bank's Tankan for lending attitudes, that for small enterprises in particular has been at a high level last seen at the end of the 1980s Chart 12.
The lending attitude as perceived by firms in the Tankan has improved moderately. In the most recent March survey, the number of firms that responded that banks' lending attitude was"accommodative" exceeded those that responded"severe.
With regard to future developments in corporate bankruptcies, the sales and profits of small firms, banks' lending attitude toward small firms, and the effects of termination of special guarantee systems for the financial stabilization of small and medium-sized enterprises at the end of March 2001 would require careful monitoring.
As outlined above, the financial environment remained fairly easy on the whole. However, the lending attitude of financial institutions as perceived by small firms was gradually becoming more severe, and fund-raising conditions for firms with low creditworthiness tended to deteriorate.
According to a survey by the Japan Finance Corporation for Small Business(JFS), the proportion of firms perceiving the lending attitude of financial institutions as"severe" had increased, and the diffusion indexes for their perception of financial institutions' lending attitude had declined to the lowest level since July 1999.
One member pointed out that, although the liquidity crunch seen in 1997-1998 was not observed currently, there were growing concerns that the financial conditions, such as the lending attitude of financial institutions, could amplify the cyclical movement in the economy.
Some members pointed out that, according to the March Tankan, the financial positions of firms and the lending attitude of financial institutions as perceived by firms had continued to improve both at large and small firms, and expressed the view that the environment for corporate finance had remained accommodative as before the termination of the quantitative easing policy.
With regard to funding conditions, the diffusion index(DI) for financial institutions' lending attitudes as perceived by firms was on an improving trend in the Tankan survey(Short-Term Economic Survey of Enterprises in Japan), and issuing conditions for CP and corporate bonds have remained favorable on the whole.
The lending attitude of financial institutions as perceived by firms either remained unchanged or improved slightly in the March Tankan, and the survey by the Japan Finance Corporation for Small Business showed that it continued to improve. However, in both surveys, the proportion of firms perceiving the lending attitude of financial institutions as"severe" remained large.
As for corporate financing, one member pointed out that the diffusion indexes of firms' perception of their financial position and the lending attitude of financial institutions in the December Tankan suggested that the financial environment continued to be relaxed. Therefore, it could be judged that the termination of the zero interest rate policy and the fall in stock prices had not particularly affected the lending attitude of financial institutions or the environment for firms' borrowing.
Financial environment Major developments in the financial environment were as follows:(1) in the corporate bonds and CP markets, the issuing conditions were deteriorating particularly for firms with low credit ratings;(2) conditions for indirect financing were becoming slightly more severe as evident in the lending attitude of banks and the fund-raising conditions for small firms; and(3) the number of corporate bankruptcies increased sharply in October.
企業からみた金融機関の貸出態度も、積極化しています。
Financial institutions' lending attitudes, as viewed by firms, have also become favorable.
資金供給面では、企業からみた金融機関の貸出態度は、改善傾向が続いている。
With regard to credit supply, firms continued to see financial institutions' lending attitudes as being on an improving trend.
English
中文
عربى
Български
বাংলা
Český
Dansk
Deutsch
Ελληνικά
Español
Suomi
Français
עִברִית
हिंदी
Hrvatski
Magyar
Bahasa indonesia
Italiano
Қазақ
한국어
മലയാളം
मराठी
Bahasa malay
Nederlands
Norsk
Polski
Português
Română
Русский
Slovenský
Slovenski
Српски
Svenska
தமிழ்
తెలుగు
ไทย
Tagalog
Turkce
Українська
اردو
Tiếng việt