Society

Japan bank lending in June hits record

Jul 09 (NHK) - Struggling businesses and other clients have left Japanese banks with record outstanding loans for a third straight month.

Companies and individuals have been borrowing more to cope with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

A report by the Bank of Japan shows the average amount of loans in June stood at 570 trillion yen, or 5.3 trillion dollars.

That's up more 6.2 percent from a year before and the highest since January 2000, when comparable data became available.

Banks have expanded their lending since March to support cash-strapped companies and private businesses.

Major banks marked an 8.6-percent increase in lending.

BOJ officials believe loans have increased not only to large corporations, but also small- and mid-sized companies.

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