A joint task force of the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party agreed Tuesday to create a government-backed special bank to expedite disposal of bad loans held by commercial banks.
The task force for resuscitation of the nation's financial system intends to map out details on the scheme by July 8, a deadline set recently by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and Koichi Kato, secretary general of the LDP.
Earlier in the day, Masaharu Hino, commissioner of the newly launched Financial Supervisory Agency, said the agency will inspect about six major banks intensively by mid-August to scrutinize their problem loans.