BOJ Holds Record 54% of JGBs at End-Sept.

Jiji Press

17:25 JST, December 21, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The Bank of Japan owned a record 53.86%t of outstanding Japanese government bonds at the end of September, the central bank said in a quarterly report Wednesday.

The BOJ continued JGB purchases to curb rises in long-term interest rates, even after effectively raising its cap on 10-year JGB yields from 0.5% to 1% at its July policy meeting.

As of Sept. 30, the total amount of JGBs outstanding, excluding treasury discount bills, stood at ¥1,066 trillion, of which the bank held ¥574 trillion.

The BOJ’s JGB holdings shrank slightly from the end of June due to price drops for the government debt securities.

The funds flow report also showed that the balance of financial assets held by households at the end of September grew 5% from a year before to ¥2,121 trillion, rewriting a record high for the fourth consecutive quarter. The rise reflected higher stock prices thanks partly to brisk earnings on cheaper yen at export-oriented firms.

Of the total, cash and deposits rose 1.2% to ¥1,113 trillion, shares 30.4% to ¥273 trillion and investment trusts 17.4% to ¥101 trillion.

Nonfinancial companies’ financial assets climbed 9.5 pct to a record ¥1,449 trillion.