Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Asia Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tundra who wrote (6851)	10/1/1998 6:31:00 PM
From: Tundra	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9980

Thread, FYI ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Major Japan Banks See Unrealized Losses Widen To 3.83 Trln Yen TOKYO (Nikkei)-The recent precipitous decline in Japanese stocks has increased unrealized losses on the shareholdings of the nation's top banks to around 3.83 trillion yen, complicating their plans to write off bad loans. The estimate by Commerz Securities (Japan) Co. is based on the Nikkei Stock Average's drop of roughly 3,000 points between the end of March and Wednesday, when Japanese firms closed their books for the interim period. The decline indicates the stock portfolios of the nation's 19 major banks have lost 5 trillion yen in value over the past six months. Despite the swelling of unrealized losses, however, most of the major banks meet the 8% capital-adequacy ratio required by the Bank for International Settlements, thanks to changes in accounting methods as well as their own efforts to hold down assets. Banks are now allowed to appraise their stockholdings at book value rather than market value. But at the same time, an increase in unrealized losses will erode the reserves the banks use as a cushion for writing off bad loans. With more major bankruptcies, such as the one involving Japan Leasing Corp., expected, the banks will be forced to accelerate their plans for bad-loan disposal in the current fiscal year, from the initial combined target of 1.79 trillion yen. (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Thursday morning edition)