Big banks' latent portfolio losses jump to 6 tril. yen.

Japan Weekly Monitor, March, 2003

TOKYO, March 10 Kyodo

Plunging stock prices have more than doubled combined latent portfolio losses at major Japanese banks, rekindling fears of a Japanese financial crisis, according to a Daiwa Institute of Research estimate made available Monday.

With the barometer Nikkei Stock Average ending Monday trading at a fresh 20-year low after dipping below 8,000 for the first time since March 1983, Daiwa estimates unrealized losses on shares held by major banks stand around 6 trillion yen, up from nearly 2.9 trillion yen at the end of September.

Big banks are set for large share issues to protect their capital bases amid falling stock prices and promoting the disposal of bad loans. They say they can withstand stock falls to the 7,000 level as...