MNI DATA IMPACT: Japan Corp Loan Demand Drops: BOJ Survey

Demand for financing by Japanese corporates via bank loans fell in October after rising to a record high in July, according to the BOJ's latest quarterly survey of senior loan officers at 50 banks released on Wednesday.

The result was evidence that the lending facilities of the Bank of Japan and the government have been working as intended.

The index for corporate fund demand -- calculated by subtracting the number
of banks reporting a decline in lending from the number of those reporting an
increase -- stood at +14 in October, down from +59 in July.

The previous high was +43 in Q4 2008, up from -5 in the three months prior to
that when the global financial crisis hurt companies' ability to borrow
directly from financial markets. The BOJ began the survey in April 2000.

The latest survey period was from September 9 to October 12.

Other key points from the survey:

--The index for demand from large companies fell to +1 from +46 and the
index for small businesses fell to +24 from +54.

--The index for fund demand expected for the next three months stood at
+9, falling from +29 in the previous survey.

--Household demand for funds stood at +3 in October, up from -24 in July, due to the increases in housing investment and spending as well as the drop in incomes.