The Bank of Japan’s assets fell ¥392.6 billion from Sept. 30 to Oct. 10, leaving ¥624.6 trillion, with Japanese government bonds (JGBs) accounting for most of the total.
The central bank published the account Oct. 14 as part of its series issued every 10 days. JGBs totaled ¥503.6 trillion, down nearly ¥373 billion from the previous account. The annex showed no Treasury discount bills, so the entire Japanese government securities balance consisted of bonds. JGBs made up about 80.6% of total assets.
Other listed assets included ¥37.0 trillion in pecuniary trusts holding index-linked exchange-traded funds, ¥68.4 trillion in loans excluding those to the Deposit Insurance Corporation, and ¥1.04 trillion in corporate bonds. The annex also listed ¥35.7 trillion under the Loan Support Program’s Fund-Provisioning Measure to Stimulate Bank Lending.
Current deposits stood at ¥408.2 trillion after falling ¥8.4 trillion from Sept. 30. Government deposits moved in the opposite direction, rising ¥7.5 trillion to ¥12.7 trillion. The Oct. 10 release did not explain these 10-day changes.
The Sept. 30 account showed a longer-term decline: assets were ¥70.2 trillion, or 10.1%, below their year-earlier level. The Bank of Japan said a ¥15.4 trillion annual decrease in loans mainly reflected reduced lending through its Loan Support Program. It also linked a ¥52.7 trillion year-over-year drop in government securities to smaller JGB purchases. Those explanations refer to the annual comparison in the September account, not the change between the Sept. 30 and Oct. 10 snapshots.
