Japan Finance Corporation for Small and Medium Enterprises

Established based on the Small and Medium Enterprise Finance Corporation Act (Act No. 138 of 1953) enacted in 1953, it was a government financial institution fully funded by the government, which subsequently carried out securitization support operations and credit insurance system operations that it inherited from the Small and Medium Enterprise Corporation (now the Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, Japan). However, in the "Basic Guidelines for Policy-Based Financial Reform" issued in 2005, it was decided that "general loans are a quantitative complement, and unlike the period of high economic growth when the country as a whole was short of funds, there is now a surplus of funds, so there is no longer any need for the government to provide quantitative complements, even for small and medium enterprises, and the government will withdraw from this role," and "special loans are clearly positioned within the country's small and medium enterprise policies, and although they are provided only to the extent that they are aimed at policy guidance, they will be periodically reviewed, and special loans that are no longer necessary will be withdrawn." Based on this policy and in line with the "System Design for Policy-Based Financial Reform" of 2006, it was merged with the National Life Finance Corporation, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Finance Corporation, and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (International Finance Division) to form the Japan Finance Corporation (JFC) in October 2008, and its business has been taken over by JFC. Even though it has been merged, the need for specialized finance in areas where financial gaps are likely to occur with private finance alone remains unchanged, so the business of the JFC itself has been taken over by JFC as the "Small and Medium Enterprise Business."

[Maeda Takuo]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

1953年（昭和28）制定の中小企業金融公庫法（昭和28年法律第138号）に基づいて設立され、その後、中小企業総合事業団（現中小企業基盤整備機構）から承継した証券化支援業務、信用保険制度に関する業務も行っていた全額政府出資の政府金融機関。しかし、2005年（平成17）に出された「政策金融改革の基本方針」において「一般貸付は量的補完であり、国全体として資金不足であった高度成長期とは異なり、資金余剰になっているので、中小企業といえども、量的補完は国が行う必要はなくなっており、撤退する」「特別貸付は、国の中小企業政策の中に明確に位置づけられ、政策誘導を目的とする範囲に限定して行うものの、定期的に見直しを行い、必要性の低下した特別貸付からは、撤退する」という方針が決まった。この方針に基づき、2006年の「政策金融改革に係る制度設計」に沿って、国民生活金融公庫、農林漁業金融公庫、国際協力銀行（国際金融部門）とともに、2008年10月日本政策金融公庫（日本公庫）に統合され、当該公庫に事業承継されている。統合されたとはいえ、民間金融だけではファイナンシャル・ギャップを生じやすい分野への専門的金融の必要性は変わらないことから、中小企業金融公庫の事業そのものは日本公庫の「中小企業事業」として引き継がれている。

［前田拓生］

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