Japan banks face tricky task of unwinding stocks

Tokyo

A SOARING stock market and pressure from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have eroded Japanese banks' resistance to unwinding shareholdings in key corporate clients.

The largest lenders including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc pledged last month to sell as much as US$15 billion of so-called cross-shareholdings, a long-awaited move that analysts say will benefit the banks and make companies more responsive to investors.