Japan govt, BOJ officials to discuss markets amid banking turmoil

TOKYO :Japan's Ministry of Finance (MOF), Financial Services Agency and Bank of Japan (BOJ) said their officials will meet on Friday afternoon to discuss financial markets, as a brewing banking crisis triggered volatile asset price moves.

Global financial markets, including Japan's, went on a rollercoaster ride this week as fears of a possible U.S. banking crisis gripped investors, but asset prices showed some signs of steadying on Friday after a series of banking sector lifelines bolstered confidence.

The officials from the three agencies will meet at 4:45 p.m. (0745 GMT).

Japan's top currency diplomat Masato Kanda, who will attend from the MOF, will speak to reporters after the meeting, the agencies said in a statement.

The trilateral meeting is held usually in times of market turbulence, and used as a tool for policymakers to signal their alarm over volatile price moves. It was last held in September, when expectations of widening U.S. and Japanese interest rate differentials pushed the yen down sharply.

Market turmoil in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank in the United States has jolted markets and ensnared Credit Suisse in Europe, fuelling fears of another global financial crisis.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei share average ended higher on Friday but still slid nearly 3 per cent for the week.

Tokyo policymakers have brushed aside the chance of a contagion in Japan, saying domestic banks had sufficient capital buffers to absorb losses caused by various external factors including risks caused by the collapse of the U.S. lenders.

Earlier on Friday, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said government is closely coordinating with the central bank and financial authorities overseas to prevent fallout from the crisis of confidence hitting banks in the West.