What’s New on the FSA Website

Week of March 21 - March 24, 2017

This page contains the latest in events, developments, and updates to the FSA website.

Press Conferences

March 22, 2017:	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (March 14, 2017) (Available in Japanese)
March 22, 2017:	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (March 10, 2017) Japanese version

Public Comments

(The following public comments are available in Japanese)

March 24, 2017:	Publication of the finalized amendments to the “Order for Enforcement of the Shinkin Bank Act” < Summary> The FSA finalized the amendments to the “Order for Enforcement of the Shinkin Bank Act.” The amendments add incorporated national universities and inter-university research institutes to the list of non-member borrowers, which allows shinkin banks, credit cooperatives or labor banks to provide loans to such non-member borrowers. The amended Order was enforced on March 24, 2017.
March 24, 2017:	Publication of the finalized amendments to the “Order for Enforcement of the Banking Act,” the “Order for Enforcement of the Money Lending Business Act, the “Ordinance for the Enforcement of the Banking Act,” and other applicable orders, ordinances, and supervisory guidelines. < Summary> The FSA finalized the amendments to the “Order for Enforcement of the Banking Act,” pertaining to the enforcement of the “Act for Partial Revision of the Banking Act (Act No.62 of 2016); the “Order for Enforcement of the Money Lending Business Act,” which exempts certain loan transactions from lending business regulations under the “Money Lending Business Act”; and the “Ordinance for the Enforcement of the Banking Act,” which abolishes formal criteria for the reportable value in the event of misconduct that has caused a loss of cash equivalents, thereby ensuring that banks conduct substantive operations management. Besides the said Orders and Ordinance, the FSA also finalized amendments to other applicable orders, ordinances, and supervisory guidelines. The amendments will be enforced on April 1, 2017 (a part of the guidelines were enforced on 25 March, 2017).
March 23, 2017:	Publication of the finalized amendments to the Cabinet Office Ordinances and the supervisory guidelines regarding notifications of names of officers of financial institutions < Summary> The FSA finalized the amendments to the Cabinet Office Ordinances and the supervisory guidelines regarding notifications of names of officers of financial institutions. The amendments allow financial institutions to notify the FSA of their officers’ birth names (without using married names) in certain documents, provided that the financial institutions have already notified both the names. The amendments will be enforced on April 1, 2017.

Press Releases

(The following press release is available in English)

Others

March 22, 2017:	Updated list of issuers of gift certificates in repayment procedures based on the “Payment Services Act”

(The following press releases are available in Japanese)

Insurance

March 24, 2017:

Approval granted to SBI Insurance Group for establishment of an insurance holding company  < Summary> The FSA granted approval to SBI Insurance Group (SBI Insurance Holding Company Planning Co., Ltd.*) for establishment of an insurance holding company which has insurance companies as its subsidiaries, pursuant to the “Insurance Business Act”. * Temporary trade name which is scheduled to be changed to “SBI Insurance Group” effective as of March 31, 2017.

Others

March 24, 2017:

Request for financial measures to deal with the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian flu (HPAI) in Miyagi Prefecture and Chiba Prefecture (Tohoku Local Finance Bureau (1), and Kanto Local Finance Bureau (2)) < Summary> Tohoku Local Finance Bureau and Kanto Local Finance Bureau respectively issued the statement “Financial Measures in Response to the Report of the Subspecies of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)” to relevant financial institutions in Miyagi Prefecture and Chiba Prefecture.  The statements request financial institutions to cooperate with prefectural authorities and appropriately deal with HPAI-affected parties (poultry farms, processors, and trade) considering their circumstances, such as by attentively responding to the needs of business management consultation and new loans or change of loan terms.

March 22, 2017:

Publication of the agenda and handouts of the third meeting of the “Council of Experts on the Stewardship Code” < Summary> The FSA published the agenda and handouts of the third meeting of the “Council of Experts on the Stewardship Code,” which was held on March 22, 2017.