MIYASHIRO, Saitama Pref. -- While many Japanese banks are struggling to overcome their tainted image, at least one is enjoying an increasingly favorable reputation.
Indeed, it is free from almost all of the negative factors plaguing other banks. It hasn't suffered from a credit crunch and is willing to lend more, even to those who have failed to repay. Still, its assets are not shrinking but swelling.
But Hana-no-Tane Ginko, or Flower Bank, is no moneylender. It operates just like any other bank except that flower seeds, not money, are its currency of loan and deposit.