The number of small and midsize businesses that failed after receiving loan moratoriums under legislation in late 2009 more than doubled in the first half of fiscal 2012, a survey says.
Regional banks and credit cooperatives provide such support to small cash-strapped firms, and if bad loans continue to rise after the legislation expires next March, it could hurt regional economies.
A total of 184 companies that received loan moratoriums failed in the April-September period, up from 90 in the same period last year, according to private research firm Teikoku Databank Ltd.
The legislation, aimed at supporting smaller businesses squeezed by the credit crunch, has led financial institutions to grant moratoriums on loans worth around ¥80 trillion to 300,000 to 400,000 companies to date.