Overview
Based on the Financial Services Agency’s Working Group Report on Strengthening Regional Financial Capability (December 2025), this project empirically examines the current state and challenges facing growth support for small, medium-sized, and mid-sized firms by regional financial institutions. To this end, we conduct a nationwide survey of branch managers at regional financial institutions. We have previously conducted three such surveys under RIETI projects, and utilizing these past survey results, we will examine the extent to which policy directions have penetrated front-line operations by analyzing changes in initiatives such as business viability assessments, relationship-based lending, lending practices that do not rely on personal guarantees, provision of risk capital, and external collaboration. In addition to the survey analysis, we also conduct empirical analyses to derive implications for supporting the growth of mid-sized firms.
July 1, 2026 - December 31, 2028
（During the research project period, the research activity period is set from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2028, and the data usage reporting period is set from July 1, 2028 to December 31, 2028.）
