Government financial institutions

A financial institution fully funded by the government. It is also called a "policy financial institution" (or "policy finance"). In a broad sense, it also includes financial institutions in which the government has a partial investment, but in this case it is often called a "government-affiliated financial institution." Government financial institutions are established based on different special laws. In addition, the government has strong supervision over government financial institutions, and the personnel of executives is often appointed by the government. The purpose of establishing government financial institutions is to be the carrier of policy finance, which is one of the means to achieve the goals of economic policy. Therefore, government financial institutions have been established at the stage when policy finance is needed. In countries such as Germany, France, and Japan, where capitalism was less developed than in the UK, government financial institutions were established at an early stage, but especially from the 1930s onwards, as government intervention in the economy became more prominent, many government financial institutions were established.

In Japan, government intervention grew stronger after the Second World War, and government financial institutions were used to advance economic policies such as nurturing infant industries, nurturing agriculture and small and medium-sized enterprises, and promoting housing construction. However, under the Junichiro Koizumi administration that came to power in 2001, the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy also discussed reform of government financial institutions based on the principle of "leave to the private sector what it can do (from public sector to private sector)," and full-scale consideration began in 2002 as "policy-based finance reform." As a result, the "Basic Policy for Policy-Based Finance Reform" was compiled in 2005, and fundamental reform of "government-affiliated financial institutions" was carried out based on this policy. This policy has the following four basic principles:

[1] Policy-based finance will be limited to the following functions: (1) fundraising support for small and medium-sized enterprises and individuals, (2) financing essential for securing overseas resources important to national policy and ensuring international competitiveness, and (3) yen loans (which combine the functions of policy-based finance and aid), and all other functions will be withdrawn.
[2] To achieve a "small and efficient government," policy financing will be halved.
(3) Develop a crisis response system (for disasters, terrorism, and financial crises) that also utilizes private financial institutions.
[4] Pursue efficient management of policy-based financial institutions.

Based on this basic principle, the functions of each government-affiliated financial institution were classified into "those that should be continued," "those that should be withdrawn from policy finance and transferred to the private sector," and "those that are necessary for the time being but should be withdrawn in the future." Based on this, the "System Design for Policy Finance Reform" issued in 2006 created a roadmap for the consolidation and elimination of government-affiliated financial institutions, and the reorganization was carried out.

As a result, the Development Bank of Japan, whose main functions are strategic industry financing and regional development/R&D financing, and the Shoko Chukin Bank, the central institution for cooperative financing related to commerce and industry, were each incorporated as joint stock companies, with the aim of full privatization after a certain transitional period. The Japan Finance Corporation for Small and Medium Enterprise, the National Life Finance Corporation, and the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Finance Corporation, whose main functions were financing for small and medium-sized enterprises, the general public, and agriculture, forestry and fisheries, were merged to form the Japan Finance Corporation (JFC) in October 2008. JFC is a government-affiliated financial institution in charge of supporting the fundraising of small and medium-sized enterprises, the general public, and the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries. All of these institutions also play a role in providing financial support based on the government's judgment in the event of an emergency response such as an economic crisis or disaster, when such a response is required.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (International Finance Division), whose main functions were export and import finance and overseas investment finance, was transferred to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2008 for "overseas economic cooperation operations and part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' grant aid operations," but its international finance division was integrated into the Japan Finance Corporation. The division was then separated from the Japan Finance Corporation to form the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Ltd. in 2012. The Japan Housing Loan Corporation, whose main function was housing finance, was transferred to the Japan Housing Finance Agency, an independent administrative institution established in 2007, and is engaged in securitization operations, purchasing housing loans issued by private financial institutions and selling them to investors. The Japan Finance Corporation for Municipal Enterprises, whose main function was financing local public enterprises, was also abolished in October 2008, and the Japan Finance Corporation for Local Public Enterprises, a local joint corporation, took over all of the relevant operations, but the organization was reorganized in June 2009 to become the Japan Finance Corporation for Local Government Entities.

[Takuo Maeda/Hideaki Hirata October 16, 2020]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

政府が全額出資している金融機関。「政策金融機関」（または「政策金融」）ともいう。広義には政府が一部出資している金融機関をも含めるが、この場合には「政府系金融機関」とよぶことが多い。政府金融機関はそれぞれ別々の特別の法律を根拠として成立している。また、政府金融機関に対する政府の監督は強く、役員の人事も政府任命によることが多い。政府金融機関の設立目的は、経済政策の目標を達成するための手段の一つである政策金融の担い手となることである。したがって、政府金融機関は政策金融が必要とされる段階において設立されてきた。イギリスに比較して資本主義の発達の遅れたドイツ、フランス、日本などでは、早い時期から政府金融機関が設立されてきたが、とくに1930年代以降、経済に対する政府の介入が顕著になるにしたがい、数多くの政府金融機関が設立された。

　日本では第二次世界大戦以後、いっそう政府の介入が強まり、幼稚産業の育成、農業・中小企業の育成、住宅建設の促進などの経済政策を進めるうえで、政府金融機関が活用された。しかし、2001年（平成13）に発足した小泉純一郎政権において「民間にできることは民間へ（官から民へ）」という原則に基づき、政府金融機関改革が経済財政諮問会議においても議論され、2002年から「政策金融改革」として本格的に検討が開始された。その結果、2005年に「政策金融改革の基本方針」がまとまり、この方針によって「政府系金融機関」の抜本的な改革が行われた。この方針では、以下の四つを基本原則としている。

〔1〕政策金融は、(1)中小零細企業・個人の資金調達支援、(2)国策上重要な海外資源確保、国際競争力確保に不可欠な金融、(3)円借款（政策金融機能と援助機能をあわせもつ）における機能に限定し、それ以外は撤退する、
〔2〕「小さくて効率的な政府」実現に向け政策金融を半減する、
〔3〕民間金融機関も活用した危機（災害・テロ、金融危機）対応体制を整備する、
〔4〕効率的な政策金融機関経営を追求する。

　この基本原則に基づき、各政府系金融機関の機能を「存続させるべきもの」「政策金融からは撤退させ、民間に移行させるべきもの」「当面必要であるが、将来的には撤退させるべきもの」に分類した。これに基づき2006年に出された「政策金融改革に係る制度設計」により、政府系金融機関の統廃合における行程表がつくられ、再編が行われた。

　その結果、戦略産業金融および地域開発・研究開発金融を主機能とする日本政策投資銀行および、商工業関係の組合金融の中心機関である商工組合中央金庫は、それぞれ株式会社化され、一定の移行期間を経て完全民営化を目ざすことになった。中小企業や国民一般、農林漁業金融を主機能としていた中小企業金融公庫、国民生活金融公庫、農林漁業金融公庫は「日本政策金融公庫」（日本公庫）として2008年10月に統合された。日本公庫は中小企業、国民生活、農林水産のそれぞれの資金調達に関する支援事業を担当する政府系金融機関である。いずれも、経済危機や災害など緊急の対応が必要な場合には、政府の判断に基づき金融面からの支援の役割も担う。

　輸出入金融・海外投資金融を主機能としていた国際協力銀行（国際金融部門）については、2008年に「海外経済協力業務及び外務省の無償資金協力業務の一部」が、国際協力機構（JICA）に承継されたが、国際金融部門は日本公庫に統合された。その後、同部門は日本公庫から分離して2012年に株式会社国際協力銀行が発足している。住宅金融を主機能としていた住宅金融公庫は2007年に設立された独立行政法人住宅金融支援機構に承継され、民間金融機関の実施した住宅ローンを買い取り、投資家へ売却する証券化業務を行っている。地方公営企業金融を主機能としていた公営企業金融公庫も2008年10月に廃止され、地方共同法人地方公営企業等金融機構が当該業務をすべて承継したが、同機構は2009年6月に改組され、地方公共団体金融機構となっている。

［前田拓生・平田英明　2020年10月16日］

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