Japan Bank Lending Balance Hits Record High

Tokyo, April 9 (Jiji Press)--Outstanding bank lending in Japan hit a record high for the 10th consecutive year in fiscal 2025, thanks to strong fund demand among businesses amid higher material and labor costs, industry data showed Thursday.

The combined lending balance at 107 banks across the country stood at 636,210.2 billion yen at the March 31 end of the latest fiscal year, up 4.6 pct from a year before, according to the data from the Japanese Bankers Association.

The growth accelerated from the preceding year's 3.5 pct.

Combined outstanding lending at city banks, including the three megabanks, increased 4.9 pct to 252,333.1 billion yen.

The balance at regional banks was up 4.5 pct at 278,137 billion yen, and that at second-tier regional banks rose 3.7 pct to 58,876.6 billion yen. The lending balance at trust banks grew 2.1 pct to 31,426.1 billion yen.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]