Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi launched the Financial Reconstruction Commission Tuesday by appointing five members to deal with the collapse of financial institutions and to resuscitate the nation's troubled banking sector.
The commission, headed by Financial Reconstruction Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa, was formed in accordance with the Financial Reform Law enacted in October and will be given authority to deal with bank failures and to examine bad loan-laden financial institutions that apply for public funds.
Yanagisawa said his first priority is Nippon Credit Bank, which the government nationalized on Sunday. "We must select the bank's new management team as soon as possible," he said.