A government advisory panel on Thursday compiled a set of rules calling for financial regulators to be authorized to inspect major nonfinancial shareholders of banks.
A subcommittee of the Financial System Council, which has been drafting rules governing the entry of nonfinancial companies into the banking business, has agreed that shareholders with a stake of 5 percent or more in their affiliated banks should be subject to inspection by state regulators, members of the panel said.
Several banks affiliated with companies inexperienced in finance have emerged recently, raising concerns among regulators that the companies may turn their banks into their own private financiers.
Companies normally associated with everyday products, such as retail chain Ito-Yokado Co., Internet investor Softbank Corp. and Sony Corp., are now converting themselves into bankers.
Based on the recommendation, the Financial Services Agency plans to submit a bill to revise the Banking Law during the next regular Diet session, slated for January, FSA officials said.
Especially strict rules are being considered for nonfinancial shareholders with stakes of 20 percent or more in a bank, according to the panel, and even entities with stakes of 15 percent may fall under the same rules if their influence is considered to be disproportionately strong.
Defining those with stakes of 5 percent or more as "major shareholders," the subcommittee is calling for rules that would require them to submit financial statements to the government's financial regulators.