BOJ official warns of rise in property-sector lending

FILE PHOTO: Bank of Japan (BOJ) Financial System and Bank Examination Department Director-General Kimihiro Etoh poses for a photo before an interview with Reuters at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo May 27, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
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Toru Hanai(Reuters)
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s property market has yet to show signs of over-heating but warrants attention as financial institutions are increasing their lending to the sector, a senior central bank official said on Wednesday.
“Japan is not showing signs of excessive risk-taking, such as those seen during the bubble period in the late 1980s,” BOJ Executive Director Kimihiro Etoh said in a speech at an annual meeting of credit unions.
“But there are some changes that warrant attention,” he said, pointing to an increase in the ratio of financial institutions’ lending to gross domestic product (GDP).
(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Chris Gallagher)