A law to privatize the government-affiliated financial institution Shoko Chukin Bank, including the sale of all shares held by the government, was approved and enacted at a plenary session of the House of Councillors on the 14th.
The Act to Partially Amend the Shoko Chukin Bank Act, which aims to eliminate the harmful effects of semi-public and semi-private sectors and enable flexible support for small and medium-sized enterprises, was approved and enacted at a plenary session of the House of Councillors on the 14th with a majority of the ruling parties and others.
The policy of full privatization of Shoko Chukin Bank was decided in 2006, but it was frequently postponed due to the Lehman shock and the Great East Japan Earthquake, and after that, fraud such as falsification of application documents was revealed in loans to small and medium-sized enterprises with deteriorated cash flow.
Under the revised law, the government will be allowed to sell more than 46% of its current shares to small and medium-sized enterprises and chambers of commerce and industry nationwide within two years from the date of promulgation of the law, and to make subsidiaries companies that support the expansion of the sales channels of borrowers.
In addition, although we have decided to weaken the involvement of the national government by changing the appointment of representative directors, which required government approval, to a notification system, the function of "crisis response loans" that lends to small and medium-sized enterprises based on government funds made during the coronavirus pandemic will be maintained.