TOKYO (MNI) – Japanese corporate demand for financing via bank
loans increased in July-September for the first time in two quarters as
firms continued to increase cash on hand amid growing uncertainty over
global economic growth, a quarterly senior loan office survey by the
Bank of Japan released on Monday showed.
The BOJ’s index for corporate fund demand, which is calculated by
subtracting the number of banks reporting a decline in lending from the
number reporting an increase, rose to zero in July-September from -5 in
April-June.
The index stood at +8 in January-March, -2 in October-December
2010, -5 in July-September and -17 in April-June 2010.
But the index is expected to fall to +2 in the next three months.
The top reason for recovering fund demand cited by loan officers in
the survey conducted from Sept. 9 to Oct. 13 was corporate efforts to
increase cash reserves.
The survey results also showed that favorable funding conditions,
such as the drop in bank lending rates, have prompted firms to secure
funds amid uncertainty over their funding and the recovery of capital
investment.
The index for demand from major companies stood at -2, unchanged
from the previous quarter while the index for small businesses rose to
+1 from -6.
The latest survey showed that of the 50 banks polled, four said
corporate fund demand increased slightly, unchanged from the April-June
survey.
The number of banks that said corporate fund demand was moderately
weaker fell to 4 in Q3 from 9 in Q2.
The number of banks that said corporate fund demand was unchanged
from the previous quarter rose to 42 from 37.
The BOJ’s senior loan officer index surged to a record high of +43
in the final quarter of 2008 from -5 in the previous quarter as
corporate financing conditions worsened sharply after the collapse of
Lehman Brothers and the resulting financial crisis hurt companies’
ability to borrow directly from financial markets.
tokyo@marketnews.com
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