BOJ Members Saw Risks Rising at November Meeting

A “few” Bank of Japan (8301) board members said financial-market turmoil from the European debt crisis and the yen’s appreciation were increasing risks for growth, according to a record of last month’s board meeting. Those members “pointed to the possibility that downside risks to the economy had increased somewhat since the previous meeting” held in October, according to minutes of the Nov. 15- 16 gathering published today in Tokyo. The BOJ refrained from altering policy at the time, and also kept its asset purchases and benchmark interest rate unchanged this month. Today’s report didn’t specify how many people shared that view and members in the record aren’t identified by name. The central bank last week lowered its economic assessment for a second month at its December board meeting. A lack of full subscriptions to BOJ offers to buy corporate debt is one sign the central bank’s monetary easing has been effective, according to today’s minutes. The central bank has been buying corporate bonds as part of its 20-trillion-yen ($256 billion) asset-buying facility.