Capital Injection and Japanese Regional Bank Lending

This paper empirically examines the effects of capital injection polices into Japanese regional banks on bank lending. The major results of this paper are as follows. First, the capital-injected banks stimulate their lending (especially, small and mid-sized enterprise (SME) lending). Second, the ratios of collateralized and guaranteed loan of capital-injected banks tend to decrease. The capital-injected banks stimulate their lending without using collateral and guaranty, so we can conclude that Japanese capital injection policy is effective. Third, because the banks that have received capital injections based on special earthquake-related provisions of the Act on Special Measures for Strengthening Financial Functions increase their loans to SMEs without using collateral, we can show the special earthquake-related provisions of this act support earthquake reconstruction. Fourth, in prefectures where the economy is declining, capital-injected banks stimulate their lending, but do not reduce collateralized loans.