TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan took an “extremely rare” step by offering to pay financial institutions that tap its loan programme aimed at combating the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Wednesday.
“We hope various financial institutions that lend to small and mid-sized companies will use our loan programme,” Kuroda told parliament.
As part of its monetary easing steps decided on Monday, the BOJ offered to pay an interest rate of 0.1% to financial institutions that borrow from the central bank and extend loans to companies hit by slumping sales from the pandemic.
(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Catherine Evans)
