BOJ, Japan Officials to Meet on Markets After SVB Collapse

Japanese officials from the central bank, finance ministry and financial regulator plan to meet Friday afternoon to discuss international markets following the recent turmoil in the global banking industry.

(Bloomberg) — Japanese officials from the central bank, finance ministry and financial regulator plan to meet Friday afternoon to discuss international markets following the recent turmoil in the global banking industry.

While senior government officials have so far played down the likely impact of the failure of regional US banks including Silicon Valley Bank, the potential meeting points to concern over the fallout of recent financial-sector turbulence that has also hit Credit Suisse Group AG.

An index of Japanese banks just capped its worst week since April 2020, falling 10.5%, outpacing the broader Asia ex-Japan financial’s gauge, which only dipped 0.8%. On top of worries over a contagion from global woes, investors are also concerned about the path of the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy. A dovish path would usually be negative for lender’s profit growth.

The meeting between the Bank of Japan, Ministry of Finance and Financial Services Agency will be the first since September. Attendees include Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Masato Kanda, BOJ executive directors Shinichi Uchida and Tokiko Shimizu, and FSA Commissioner Junichi Nakajima, according to the finance ministry.

The Nikkei newspaper reported on the possibility of the gathering earlier, without attribution.

Global markets have been rocked by the financial-sector jitters even after the Swiss National Bank provided a $54 billion credit line to Credit Suisse. US authorities have also been trying to stabilize the regional banking sector, most recently through the deposit of $30 billion by major lenders into First Republic Bank.

Some analyst believe Japanese bank stocks have been oversold. They have very diverse funding profiles, without outsized concentration in a single industry or segment, said Pri De Silva, a senior credit analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

–With assistance from Yuko Takeo, Aya Wagatsuma and Hideyuki Sano.

(Updates to reflect official announcement)

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