Vice Finance Minister Koji Tanami expressed regret Monday over the nationalization of Nippon Credit Bank but defended his ministry's decision last March to infuse public funds into the bank.
Speaking at a regular news conference, Tanami said it is "very regrettable" that NCB had been deemed insolvent and will be placed under temporary state control.
However, he did not admit that this was the Finance Ministry's responsibility, despite the supervisory role it played in March, when NCB was assessed as a sound institution eligible for public funds infusion.
He said while the ministry's administration of some time ago needs to be examined from various perspectives, the parties concerned each took the right action under the given circumstances.
The March recapitalization was approved by a panel at the government-backed Deposit Insurance Corp., he added, thereby implying that the ministry was not directly responsible.
The Financial Supervisory Agency, which overtook the supervisory function of the Finance Ministry last June, played a key role in the government's decision Sunday to nationalize NCB.