INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
TOKYO: A few Bank of Japan board members said the central bank must work carefully with the government in dealing with the next economic
downturn, minutes of the BOJ's October rate review showed on Tuesday.
The nine-member board also debated the demerits of prolonged
monetary easing, with one warning that life insurers could struggle to meet provisions guaranteed to policy holders if current ultra-low
interest rates persist, the minutes showed.
The deliberations highlight the growing view within the BOJ that fiscal policy may need to play
a bigger role in battling risks to the economy, given the rising cost and diminishing return of monetary easing.
"The BOJ should prepare for
the next economic downturn as among risk scenarios
In doing so, it's important not only to take monetary policy action but enhance cooperation with the government" such as through fiscal
policy, the minutes quoted a few board members as saying at the October meeting.
At the Oct
30-31 rate review, the BOJ kept policy steady but gave the strongest signal to date that it may cut interest rates in the near future,
underscoring its concern that overseas risks could derail a fragile economic recovery
It kept monetary settings unchanged at a subsequent meeting in December, as a preliminary truce in United States -China trade talks took
some pressure off the BOJ to deploy immediate stimulus.
As the BOJ's massive money printing keeps borrowing costs low, the government
compiled a $122 billion fiscal package on Dec
5 to pre-empt the risk of another recession.
Years of aggressive asset buying have failed to fire up inflation to the BOJ's 2 per cent
target, forcing it to maintain a massive stimulus despite the hit inflicted on financial institutions' profits from prolonged ultra-low
rates.
The nine-member board is split between those who see room to ramp up stimulus to fire up inflation, and those who are more concerned
about the demerits of the BOJ's ultra-easy policy.
"While financial institutions' soundness was ensured for the moment, the cumulative
side effects of prolonged low interest rates warranted vigilance," a few board members were quoted as saying at the October rate review.
"If
long-term yields remained at around current levels for a long period, life insurers could face difficulty in maintaining the provision of
insurance products and might not fulfil their social responsibility," one member said.
The BOJ does not release the identities of the board
members that made the comments in the minutes.