Provisional Translation

Press Conference by Taro Aso, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and Minister of State for Financial Services

(Excerpt)

(Friday, October 27, 2017, 10:36 am to 10:47 am)

[Questions and answers:]

Q.

I have a question about the integrating operations of regional banks. In Nagasaki Prefecture, a regional bank integrating operations has been postponed indefinitely, while in Niigata Prefecture the same thing looks likely to happen with the integrating operations of the Hokuetsu Bank and the Daishi Bank. The reason is that the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is reluctant to give the go ahead for those. What do you think about the current situation?

A.

There’s certainly a lot going on with regional banks, the Eighteenth Bank, and so on. The FTC expresses concern that Fukuoka Bank could end up with too large a share of the market, but that’s an individual case, and I’ll refrain from commenting on individual cases, including the one in Niigata.

Q.

The general view is that while regional banks are exploring the option of integrating operations as they try to transform their business models, the FTC, which is part of the government, seems to be putting the brakes on that. What’s your opinion on this?

A.

There are various different positions, so there are bound to be different opinions.

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