Junichi Nakajima, Secretary of the Financial Services Agency, who took office last month, said in an interview with NHK that financial support for small and medium-sized enterprises affected by the new corona virus is the biggest theme, and that regional financial institutions in a difficult business environment In response to this, he expressed his intention to seek strengthening of the management base, including mergers and business integrations.
In this, Secretary Nakajima said, "Because the scope of the state of emergency has been expanded and the period has been extended, the response to the new corona will still be the largest in the past year," he said. He emphasized the idea of seeking the utmost flexibility so as not to interfere with the situation.
Regarding the aim of the government and the Bank of Japan to support the reorganization of regional banks, Secretary Nakajima said, "The business environment of regional financial institutions is extremely difficult due to the declining population and the continuation and prolongation of low interest rates. We are positioning restructuring and business integration as one option for how to strengthen our management base. "
On top of that, "There is a growing awareness that financial institutions must strengthen their management bases themselves, but it cannot be said that each financial institution has completely drawn the path. Mergers and integrations are individual management decisions. It is necessary to continue dialogue with financial institutions, although it is not a number, "he said, and expressed his intention to seek efforts to strengthen the management base, including reorganization.