Local News

The 18 regional banks headquartered in Kyushu released their interim reports for the current fiscal year. A total of 12 of those banks reported lower core net profits. This was attributed to factors that included lower income from interest on loans due to lower interest rates and the intensification of competition. This depressed the stock prices of these banks, which in turn increases the valuation losses on the bank stock held by power companies and other big businesses. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun