BOJ's pretax profit plunges 73.7% in April-Sept. period+.

TOKYO, Nov. 29 Kyodo

Pretax profit at the Bank of Japan (BOJ) fell 73.7% in the April-September period from a year earlier to 248.2 billion yen, mainly due to valuation and transaction losses on government bonds and foreign exchange, the central bank said Wednesday.

The BOJ posted a 384.0 billion yen loss on the sale and redemption of government bonds, a 4.6 billion yen loss on foreign government bonds, and a 248.5 billion yen loss on foreign exchange transactions.

The foreign exchange losses were a result of the yen's strength against both the dollar and the euro compared with the previous year. The dollar was quoted at 106 yen at the end of September, down from 118 yen a year earlier, while the euro traded at 103 yen, down from 131 yen.

Meanwhile, the BOJ's balance of assets increased 24.0% to 85,338.9 billion yen in the fiscal first half, partly due to the extra funds it put into the money market under its ultra-easy monetary stance.

Outstanding loans totaled 750.1 billion yen, down 80% from a year earlier, partly due to a decrease in the balance of lending to the Deposit Insurance Corp. (DIC), which now relies on borrowings from private-sector financial institutions.

Outstanding liabilities rose 24.7% to 82,679.6 billion yen.