Japan FSA to examine real estate lending risks as rates climb

Japan’s financial regulator will monitor lending to the real estate sector as part of efforts to study risks posed by the country’s rising interest rates.

Real estate is among a range of areas on the Financial Services Agency’s watchlist for credit risks as lenders and borrowers adjust to higher rates after years of deflation. The FSA will also examine lending to overseas funds and data centers and other exposures, according to its annual strategic policies announced Tuesday.

The Bank of Japan is expected to raise rates for the third time in less than 10 months on Friday, marking the fastest pace of hikes since the nation’s asset bubble in 1990. With the benchmark rate at a 31-year high, the FSA said it will monitor how banks are managing their assets and liabilities, including funding costs, noting that competition for deposits is intensifying.

Home prices have surged in Tokyo and other cities as the residential market recovers from years of stagnation. Some lenders have begun to offer loans of as long as 50 years to homebuyers who want to spread out their repayment obligations.

Banks are offering mortgages “with significantly longer repayment periods than in the past,” the FSA said, adding that it wants to make sure they are appropriate for borrowers’ expected income trajectory. The agency is stepping up scrutiny of ultralong mortgage lending, an FSA official said last month.

The strategic priorities cover the agency’s action plans for the year ending next June.

The regulator also said it will assess the effectiveness of governance and risk management frameworks of major banking groups, given their global expansion and growing use of generative artificial intelligence.