Mizuho to Raise Long-Term Prime Rate to 1.4%

Jiji Press

11:23 JST, August 10, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Mizuho Bank said Wednesday that it will raise its long-term prime lending rate by 0.1 percentage point from the previous month to 1.4% in August, a level unseen since May.

The rise in the benchmark rate on loans to big companies, set to take effect Thursday, reflects a climb in Japanese government bond yields following a Bank of Japan decision to adjust its monetary policy.

Mizuho Bank last raised the prime rate in February.

Last month, the BOJ Policy Board decided to tolerate rises in 10-year JGB yields to 1% by operating its yield curve control flexibly.

The yield on the newest 10-year JGB issue, the bond market’s benchmark, hit a nine-year high of 0.655% last week.