MNI BRIEF: BOJ To Sell ETF Holdings at Market Value - Ueda

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Wednesday the Bank will sell its exchange traded-fund holdings at market value when the time comes.

He said the exact method of the ETFs sale would be communicated after the Japanese economy achieves the BOJ's 2% price target. He did not elaborate further, but added the disposal would occur without confusing financial markets.

The balance of ETFs held by the BOJ rose to JPY37.12 trillion at the end of March from JPY36.63 trillion a year earlier, with an unrealised profit at JPY16.04 trillion, up JPY14.69 trillion at the end of March 2022, the BOJ has reported. ETF distributions totaled JPY1.1 trillion in fiscal 2022, up from JPY842.6 billion a year earlier.

Ueda said the Bank’s financial position will suffer when it losses the ETF distributions following the sale. The BOJ posted a record high net-income of JPY2.09 trillion in the 2022 fiscal year, up from a net income of JPY1.32 trillion a year earlier.