Accepting credit-risk weighted equity requirements for banks, is accepting the economy going into early retirement.

Sir I refer to Yoichi Takita’s “Split emerge between central bank and policy makers”, your special report on Japan, March 30.

Takita writes “ The government is working hard to ensure investment and employment growth will lead to an economic upswing.”… and for that Mr. Abe will try “eliminating disincentives such as high corporate tax rates, big electricity bills and excessive economic rules”.

I do not know enough about Japan to evaluate how much that could help, but, if it was for instance Europe, which depends so much on bank credit, then that would not suffice. That is because any country that tells its banks to go and leverage much their equity, and the implicit support they receive from taxpayers, on what is “absolutely safe”, and to stay away from “the risky”, is a country that has placed itself, unwittingly or voluntarily, in an early retirement mode not compatible with any sturdy and sustainable economic growth.

@PerKurowski