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Japanese Bank Lending Jumps 5.7% in May, Topping Forecasts
Japanese bank lending in May grew the fastest since March 2021 on higher growth in major banks, according to data from the Bank of Japan released Monday.Bank lending in the country jumped 5.7% year over year in May, faster than the 5.4% rise in April and above the 5.6% forecast by Trading Economics.Total outstanding loans at major, regional, and shinkin banks reached 670.8 trillion yen during the month.Loans at major banks jumped 8.7% year over year, with 275.3 trillion yen in outstanding loans. The growth was faster than the 7.9% rise reported in April, the central bank said.Regional bank loans grew 4.3%, faster than the 4.2% increase in April. Total outstanding loans were at 316 trillion yen.Lending at major and regional banks combined rose 6.3% during the month, accelerating from 5.9% in April. Total outstanding loans as of May were at 591.4 trillion yen.Shinkin banks or cooperative-owned financial institutions saw loan growth at 1.7%, higher than the 1.5% increase seen a month ago, with total outstanding loans at 79.5 trillion yen.The heightened lending activity comes as businesses in the country boost borrowing to cover cash shortfalls due to mergers, capital investments, and investor pressure, Bloomberg reported separately the same day.Total deposits inched up 2.1% year over year in May, faster than the 1.9% growth in April. Total outstanding deposits were at 1.0826 quadrillion yen.City and regional bank deposits increased 2.4% year over year, with outstanding deposits of 920 trillion yen in May.Investment bank Jefferies said its impression of Japanese loans and deposits is positive due to stronger growth compared with the previous month, according to a report released Monday.
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