BOJ Unveils ETF Sales Plan, Keeps Door Open for October Hike

The Bank of Japan took another step toward policy normalization, announcing it would start to offload its massive exchange-traded fund holdings while keeping the door open to further hikes this year including in October.

The central bank announced Friday it will start selling its well over ¥75 trillion ($508 billion) stockpile of ETFs by market value at a pace of about ¥620 billion per year. While at that rate it would take more than a century to sell, stocks fell as it marked the first time the BOJ has laid out a plan for offloading the assets accumulated over years of ultra-easy monetary policy.