Financial Services Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa said Friday the government has completed the liquidation and consolidation of troubled banks in preparation for the April 1 abolition of the government's full guarantee on time deposits.
"Some credit unions are still struggling, but when it comes to banks, the necessary preparations have been done before the deposit guarantee ends," Yanagisawa told a news conference.
Recently, two regional banks -- Ishikawa Bank, based in Kanazawa, and Chubu Bank, in Shizuoka -- have gone bankrupt, while Kanto Bank and Tsukuba Bank, two regional banks in Ibaraki Prefecture, have announced a merger plan.
Yanagisawa said he expects more banks to integrate operations with other institutions even after the government imposes a 10 million yen ceiling on guarantees for time deposits from April.
He also said there are no more savings associations considered likely to apply for infusions of public capital by the March 31 deadline as they appear to be reluctant to accept greater government influence over them in return for public money.