The total value of overall bank lending in Japan was up 2.2 percent on year in December, the Bank of Japan said on Tuesday, coming in at 496.715 trillion yen.
That was shy of forecasts for an increase of 2.3 percent, which would have been unchanged from the November reading.
Excluding trusts, bank lending again was up an annual 2.2 percent to 431.959 trillion yen. That also missed forecasts for 2.3 percent, which would have been unchanged.
For the fourth quarter of 2015, bank lending both with and without trusts advanced 2.3 percent on year.
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