Online lender Rakuten Bank says it’s better positioned than rivals to enjoy a profit boost when the Bank of Japan eventually ends its negative interest-rate policy.
A rise in short-term rates would have an immediate benefit for the newly listed bank given that many of the loans and other assets on its books have adjustable rates, Chief Executive Officer Hiroyuki Nagai said.
"I think the proportion of our assets that have floating rates is the highest among Japanese banks,” he said in a Bloomberg Television interview, without giving figures. "So for us, the end of the negative interest rate policy means a big increase in profits.”