TOMOKO A. HOSAKA
Associated Press Writer
TOKYO – Japan’s central bank is escalating the fight against deflation by offering more cheap loans to banks.
In a split decision, the Bank of Japan’s policy board decided Wednesday to double the amount available under its short-term lending program to 20 trillion yen ($221 billion) from 10 trillion yen.
Introduced in December, the three-month loans at a fixed rate of 0.1 percent are intended to nourish credit flows and reduce longer-term interest rates.