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

(Excerpt)

(Tuesday, October 1, 2013, from 6:38 pm to 7:11 pm)

[Questions and answers]

Q.

Last Friday, a business improvement administrative order was issued to Mizuho Bank, concerning the problem being that it had neglected for more than two years to deal with the matter of loans made to anti-social forces.  What are your thoughts on such a thing occurring at a megabank, and do you have any ideas on how to prevent a recurrence?

A.

Those loans were made as affiliated loan by a credit company, and Mizuho Bank did not itself serve as the contact point for these transactions with anti-social forces, but it is truly regrettable that it may not have exercised proper business management/control, neglecting these loans over a prolonged period of two years.

The recent administrative order obliges Mizuho Bank to develop and maintain an appropriate internal control environment, and I have every expectation that it will carry out this order immediately. In any event, I believe it is possible that other financial institutions and firms may unwittingly be in similar circumstances as Mizuho. Consequently, I think it necessary that financial institutions take another look at their own approaches, and continually follow up on their transactions.

(End)