BOJ Completes Sales of Stocks Bought during Financial Crises

   Tokyo, July 14 (Jiji Press)--The Bank of Japan has completed the sale of stocks acquired from domestic financial institutions during past financial crises, it was learned Monday.
   The Japanese central bank had bought shares held by private financial institutions since 2002, in a bid to stabilize the financial system. Its stock holdings topped 2 trillion yen at one point on a book value basis.
   The BOJ's accounts report released Monday showed its stock holdings at zero as of Thursday, marking an end of the central bank's highly unusual policy of acquiring the high-risk assets.
   At the time the BOJ began its stock purchases, Japanese private banks had been struggling with nonperforming loans following the burst of the country's bubble economy. The BOJ determined that a decline in stock prices would deal a blow to banks' finances and destabilize the country's entire financial system.
   The central bank embarked on purchases of shares held by private banks as a measure to achieve financial stability, rather than as a monetary policy affecting the economy and prices.

(2025/07/14-13:18)

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