Increase in lending margins, financing demand have MUFG, others looking inward

20260922N Tokyo cityscape

The share of Japan’s national banks in domestic lending has rebounded from a low of 45.5% in May 2025 to 46.8%. (Photo by Tomoki Mera)

KAZUMA SHIROKAWA

September 23, 2026 02:01 JST

TOKYO — Major Japanese banks’ share of domestic lending in August marked the first sustained expansion since the collapse of the bubble economy more than three decades ago, boosted by increases in lending margins and financing demand.