What’s New on the FSA Website

Week of November 30, 2020 - December 4, 2020

This page contains the latest in events, developments, and updates to the FSA website.

Press Conferences

December 3, 2020	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (November 13, 2020) Japanese version
December 3, 2020	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (November 6, 2020) Japanese version

Public Comments

(The following public comment is available in Japanese)

November 30, 2020

Publication of the draft "Order to Amend the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Labor Bank Act" <Summary> The FSA proposed the draft "Order to Amend the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Labor Bank Act." The proposal mainly intends to reflect recommendations from the "Report of the Working Group on Financial Markets of the Financial System Council – Toward the Enhancement of Financial Institutions" (provisional English report title), which was published in August 2020, in regard to non-paper-based delivery of material information (related to prospectus, "document for delivery prior to conclusion of contract," and others) to financial products/services users (hereinafter referred to as "customers") prior to conclusion of contracts for the provision of financial products/services.   In particular, the proposal intends to grant financial products/services providers (including labor banks and others) the following (provided that a financial products/services provider has offered concise material information by using a "Key Information Sheet"* or the like, and has explained key contents of the "document for delivery prior to conclusion of a contract" according to the respective customers' attributes): (1) Permission to deliver prospectus to customers by electronic means, and (2) Exemption from the requirement to deliver a "document prior to conclusion of a contract" by paper-based means (provided that the contents of the document are made available electronically for a customer's inspection). * An explanatory document that provides customers with concise and easy-to-understand information about risks and fees comparable across financial products/services.

Press Releases

(The following press releases are available in English)

Policies

December 4, 2020	Publication of the summary from “JFSA priorities for July 2020-June 2021”

 

Banks

December 4, 2020	Overview of major banks’ financial results as of September 30, 2020
December 4, 2020	Overview of the Japanese regional banks’ financial results for six months ended September 30, 2020
December 1, 2020	Publication of the Special Provisions for the Application of the Guidelines for Debt Consolidation after a  Natural Disaster to the COVID-19 Infection

 

Publication

December 1, 2020	FSA publishes English translation of monthly magazine, Access FSA No.207

 

Others

December 4, 2020	“The Council of Experts Concerning the Follow-up of Japan’s Stewardship Code and Japan’s Corporate Governance Code” the Twenty-Second Council
December 1, 2020	Comment letter on the IFRS Foundation Consultation Paper on Sustainability Reporting

 

(The following press releases are available in Japanese)

Councils

December 1, 2020

Publication of the proceedings and handouts of the fourth meeting of the "Working Group on Capital Market Regulations" (provisional English title) of the Financial System Council <Summary> The FSA published the proceedings and handouts of the fourth meeting of the "Working Group on Capital Market Regulations" (provisional English title) of the Financial System Council, which was held on December 1, 2020.

 

Banks

December 1, 2020	Outline of the "Reports on the Measures for the Resolution of Failed Financial Institutions" delivered by the Minister of State for Financial Services, ASO Taro, in the Committee on Financial Affairs of the House of Councillors <Summary> The Minister of State for Financial Services, ASO Taro, delivered an outline of the "Reports on the Measures for the Resolution of Failed Financial Institutions" in the Committee on Financial Affairs of the House of Councillors. The reports, addressing the two semiannual periods extending from October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018, had been submitted to the Diet respectively on June 22 and December 18, 2018, pursuant to the "Act on Emergency Measures for the Revitalization of the Financial Functions."
December 1, 2020	Request for financial measures to deal with the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian flu (HPAI) in Miyazaki Prefecture (The Kyushu Local Finance Bureau) <Summary> The Kyushu Local Finance Bureau issued the statement "Financial Measures in Response to the Report of the Subspecies of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)" to relevant financial institutions in Miyazaki Prefecture. The statement requests financial institutions to cooperate with prefectural authorities and appropriately deal with HPAI-affected parties (poultry farms, processors, and trade) considering their circumstances, such as by attentively responding to the needs of business management consultation and new loans or change of loan terms.
November 30, 2020	Requests for the facilitation of financing for small- and medium-sized enterprises during the calendar- or fiscal-year-end season and further beyond <Summary> Against the backdrop of the heightened economic uncertainty due to the impact of COVID-19, businesses are still facing difficult cash flow conditions with tight borrowing constraints, especially given the increasing demand for operating funds and other resources toward the calendar- or fiscal-year-end season. In response to such circumstances, the FSA has held meetings with government officials and representatives from various financial institutions to exchange views on facilitating financing to small- and medium-sized enterprises and others, whereby the FSA has requested that bank associations of deposit-taking financial institutions and The Norinchukin Bank facilitate and ensure appropriate and proactive financing for small- and medium-sized enterprises during the calendar- or fiscal-year-end season and further beyond.

 

Securities

December 1, 2020

Publication of the updated "Cabinet Office Order to Amend the Cabinet Office Order on Financial Instruments Business, etc." <Summary> The FSA updated the "Cabinet Office Order to Amend the Cabinet Office Order on Financial Instruments Business, etc." The updates expressly set forth that a description on flood risk shall be included in the matters to be stated in the document for delivery prior to the conclusion of a contract with a financial services user in regard to transactions of beneficial interest in real property trusts. The updated Cabinet Office Order will be enforced on December 21, 2020.

November 30, 2020

Administrative actions against Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. and Japan Exchange Group, Inc. <Summary> The FSA took administrative actions against Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE) and Japan Exchange Group, Inc. (JPX), ordering the improvement of their business operations pursuant to the "Financial Instruments and Exchange Act." These administrative actions are based on findings mainly from the statutory incident reports submitted by the said entities pertaining to their system failures that occurred on October 1, 2020, as well as from the subsequent on-site monitoring (inspection) conducted by the FSA pursuant to the said Act. In particular, the configuration flaw in the function of the automatic switchover to the system backup lines in the event of a system failure, and a certain insufficiency in their (particularly TSE's) rules for the resumption of trading were found as issues that need to be addressed and resolved from the perspective of resilience and reliability assurance.