Bad loans top ¥12 trillion in Japan

MANILA, Philippines - Financial Services Agency said bad loans at the nation’s 121 banks ballooned by ¥889 billion ($9.6 billion) to reach ¥12.3 trillion ($133 billion) during the six-month period to Sept. 30. It was the first time since the second half of fiscal 2001 that the banking system saw a rise in bad loans compared with six months earlier. The agency said bad loans at the top nine banking giants swelled ¥425 billion ($4.6 billion) to ¥4.2 trillion ($45 billion), while those at 110 regional lenders rose ¥406 billion ($4.4 billion) to ¥7.9 trillion ($85 billion).