Tokyo banks poised to step up cuts to US$65bil stock hoard

Japan's top financial regulator has pressured property-and-casualty insurers to cut their holdings and the banks will probably follow in this direction. — Bloomberg

TOKYO: For decades, banks in Japan have clung to a network of cross-shareholdings that date to the nation’s industrial emergence from World War II, helping companies expand globally and ride out periods of economic hardship.

Now, expectations are growing for a more rapid sell-down of the equity stakes.