Low-Rate Policy Did Not Cause MUFG Fee Move
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s recent consideration to charge fees on dormant accounts was not caused by the Bank of Japan’s negative interest rate policy, said finance minister Taro Aso.
The comments were made one day after MUFG was reportedly considering to impose fees of 1,200 yen ($11) per year on accounts that have not been used for over two years, a «Nikkei» report said, adding that other large financial giants in Japan could follow suit.
«It costs a certain amount of fees to manage dormant accounts, In that sense, just because some bank is considering imposing fees, that doesn't immediately mean that something's wrong with bank management,» Aso said, according to a «Reuters» report. «I don't think [the case from] such a big bank [like] Mitsubishi was caused by low interest rates.»
Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) pursuit of inflation has led to a negative interest rate policy that has caused significant impact to bank margins and profits. But when asked if the BoJ’s policies affected individuals through deteriorating financial institution profits, Aso said: «I’m not aware of that.»
