We have pointed out problems concerning the Postal Savings and asked for reforms for many years. We are now on the verge of historical reforms taking shape in the form of privatization.
The Postal Saving's legal obligation to deposit all its funds with the Trust Fund Bureau of the Ministry of Finance has already been repealed. Branch and ATM networks of private financial institutions are now well developed. There is no point any longer for the government-run Postal Savings "to provide a safe and convenient vehicle for small value savings accounts." In this sense, fading them out would be desirable.
On the other hand, users convenience and the postal office network must be taken into consideration. This makes it vital to fundamentally reform the Postal Savings in a manner that will benefit the national economy, by scrutinizing it function by function. In this process, the principle of "letting the private sector do what it can do" must be followed.
The reforms we expect are reforms that ensure a fair competitive environment and resolve existing issues with the mammoth Postal Savings.
Based on this understanding, we, the private financial institutions, confirm the following positions and resolve to work as one to realize them.
| - | Privatizing the Postal Savings with its vast scale intact is hazardous to keeping regional financial institutions sound. It may also place new burden on the citizens of Japan. It is necessary to manage the existing government-guaranteed savings deposits, like TEIGAKU deposits, in separate accounts from those newly accepted by privatized postal savings. It is also necessary to downscale the institution's size by, for instance, reducing the deposit limit while the Government maintains a monetary stake in the company. |
| - | To establish fair competition with private financial institutions, during both preparation and migration periods, it is necessary to abolish the governmental guarantee, place Postal Savings into the Deposit Insurance System, and begin levying taxes from privatization in April 2007. It is also necessary for the privatized Postal Savings to be prohibited from the money lending business while the government holds its stake. |
| - | Soundness of business management is especially important for the Postal Savings in its role as a financial institution. This soundness would be jeopardized if losses incurred by the Postal Mail business negatively impacts the Postal Savings. Therefore, it is necessary to establish completely independent and separate organizations by line of business instead of introducing a holding company structure, which has inherent problems. This help clarify each business' results and block risks from spreading among businesses. Moreover, it is also necessary to subject the privatized Postal Savings business to the Banking Law and regulatory supervision of the Financial Services Agency, and require it to comply with the rules for the sale of financial products. |