Rating Cuts Ratchet Up Pressure on Japan’s Regional Banks
- Twelve local banks have ratings downgraded in 2019, data show
- Raises calls for the lenders to merge, resuscitate profits
Signage for Suruga Bank Ltd. is displayed outside the company's headquarters in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Photographer: Akio Kon/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The future of some Japanese regional banks looks increasingly precarious after the sector had the most credit rating downgrades in the country last year.
The latest blow to the troubled lenders adds to pressure on the weakest among them to consolidate and boost profitability. Local banks are battling to revive lending as the population shrinks and negative interest rates persist in the world’s third-largest economy.