Back
19 Mar 2018
BOJ's government debt holdings hit record in Q4 - Reuters News
The Bank of Japan's (BOJ) holdings of government debt rose to a record ¥ 449 trillion ($4.24 trillion) in government debt at the end of December - 6.8 percent from the same period a year earlier.
No wonder, concerns of the rise that BOJ's policy framework is unsustainable. Also, the summary of opinions of BOJ's March rate decision released earlier today mentioned lack of room for further monetary easing.
Key points (Source: Reuters)
- The central bank held 41.1 percent of all government debt at the end of December, also the highest on record.
- Insurance companies and pensions were the second-largest holders, accounting for 21.6 percent of all bonds outstanding.
- Overseas investors' holdings of Japanese government debt rose to 122 trillion yen at the end of December, the highest amount on record.
- Assets held by Japanese households rose 3.9 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier to a record 1,880 trillion yen due to gains in stocks and investment trusts.