Negative Rates Fail to Spur Japan Bank Loans in First Month
- Deposits grow even after banks cut interest rates to 0.001%
- BOJ's policy won't have an immediate effect: HSBC's Shirota
This article is for subscribers only.
Japanese loan growth slowed slightly in February and deposits accelerated -- the opposite effect sought by the central bank as it began its negative interest-rate program.
Loans rose 2.2 percent from a year earlier, easing from a revised 2.3 percent in January, the Bank of Japan said in a statement Tuesday. Deposits climbed 3.1 percent in February, faster than 2.9 percent a month earlier.