JAPAN

Bad Loans Piling Up at Banks: Some of Japan’s 21 biggest banks had problem loans amounting to $122 billion at the end of March, up from $111 billion six months earlier, the country’s top business newspaper reported. Banks refused to comment on the report in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, but analysts said the figures are close to those the banks will disclose later this month. Problem loans are defined as loans to clients who have gone bankrupt and notes on which interest is at least six months overdue. Among the larger banks, Sakura Bank was expected to post the largest amount in non-performing loans--$12.7 billion, the report said. Fuji Bank and Sumitomo are expected to post about $11.8 billion each in non-performing loans. Analysts said banks may have stepped up efforts to get rid of bad loans. A recovery in stock prices in March gave banks more money to get rid of bad loans, so they could increase their loan-loss provisions and sell more problem loans to the Cooperative Credit Purchasing Co. Ltd., which was set up by Japanese financial institutions to help them solve the accelerating problem of bad loans.