TOKYO -- Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ is preparing to relinquish its role as a primary dealer of Japanese government bonds as negative interest rates turn the instruments into larger risks, a fallout from massive monetary easing measures by the Bank of Japan.
The role comes with perks such as meetings with the Finance Ministry over bond issuance. But dealers also are required to bid on at least 4% of a planned JGB issuance, which became an increasingly heavy burden for BTMU. The ministry is expected to let the bank resign.
