Japan’s bank lending grew at a steady annual pace in October, while deposit and certificate-of-deposit growth eased, leaving the latest banking data with diverging credit and funding trends.
The Bank of Japan’s preliminary figures showed loans at major, regional and shinkin banks were 5.2% higher than a year earlier. That matched September’s revised pace. Deposits and certificates of deposit (CDs) at city, regional and shinkin banks increased 1.4%, compared with 1.6% in September.
Lending growth at major banks eased to 7.5% from 7.7% in September. Regional-bank lending rose 3.9%, after 4.0% in the revised September figures. Shinkin-bank lending advanced 2.0%, unchanged from the previous month.
Within the deposit measure, city-bank deposits and CDs rose 2.4%, down from 2.7%. Regional-bank balances increased 0.9%, matching September, while shinkin-bank balances were flat after rising 0.1% a month earlier.
The totals cover different sets of institutions: the lending measure combines major, regional and shinkin banks, while the deposit and CD total combines city, regional and shinkin banks.
