Japanese banks “could buy Australia”, audience told
(Australia) - With interest rates currently sitting at zero, Japanese banks are so wealthy that they could "buy Australia tomorrow if they wanted to", a member of Merrill Lynch Japan has told an Australian audience.
"Japanese banks can fund any asset, whether it’s a good asset or a bad asset," Merrill Lynch’s Jesper Koll said at a Minerals Council of Australia conference.
Koll said it was untrue that the Japanese banking system was on the point of collapse.
"With zero interest rates and zero funding costs there cannot be a financial crisis because the banks are infinitely wealthy," he said.
However, he acknowledged that the country needed to restructure its economy and that China had stolen its clothes as the world’s factory.
He was also critical of government intervention on the performance of debts and said a type of "financial socialism" was rife in Japan.
Koll said it was untrue that the Japanese banking system was on the point of collapse.
"With zero interest rates and zero funding costs there cannot be a financial crisis because the banks are infinitely wealthy," he said.
However, he acknowledged that the country needed to restructure its economy and that China had stolen its clothes as the world’s factory.
He was also critical of government intervention on the performance of debts and said a type of "financial socialism" was rife in Japan.
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