Banks now have weaker lending constraints because of rebounding stock prices, the yen's appreciation and the high expectations for the government's financial stabilization measures, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday.
But the basic trend of cautious lending continues, especially among large banks, toward the March term-end, the BOJ emphasized in its February monthly economic report.
In the January report, the BOJ said banks are increasingly cautious in lending as capital adequacy constraints tightened because of the falling yen and stock prices.