Heads of three debt-collection organs asked Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka for continued support July 25 in their loan-reclaiming efforts, ministry officials said.
They also discussed the establishment of a governmental debt-collection unit in the future. During a morning meeting, Kohei Nakabo, president of Housing Loan Administration Corp., Noboru Matsuda, head of Deposit Insurance Corp., and Shigeru Mizuno, president of the Resolution and Collection Bank, briefed Mitsuzuka on the performances of their institutions.
Mitsuzuka praised the three bodies for their successes and said they serve as a role model for the collection of nonperforming assets throughout the nation. Finance Ministry officials said they are currently studying the possibility of setting up a loan-collection body fully under government control but added that such a concept cannot be quickly achieved.
Nakabo said such a body could boost morale among his employees. Housing Loan Administration was set up last July to operate for only 15 years to collect bad loans left behind by seven "jusen" mortgage lenders that were liquidated. Many observers have expressed the need for training more experts on debt-collection, relatively complex in Japan due to intertwining mortgages and other uncommon obstacles.