JBIC, 2 American Banks to Lend 4.6 B. Dollars for U.S. Projects

Tokyo, Aug. 14 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Bank for International Cooperation said Friday it and two major U.S. banks, Citibank and JPMorgan Chase Bank, will jointly provide 4.61-billion-dollar loans for U.S. projects, based on an investment and loan pledge the Japanese government has made to the United State under their tariff agreement. As such investments and loans require a large amount of dollar funds, Japan’s Finance Ministry has announced plans to receive financing from foreign banks. The joint loans will be used to cover initial costs in projects to build natural gas-fired power plants in Pennsylvania and Texas, part of the second-batch projects under the Japanese pledge. JBIC, affiliated with the Japanese government, will lend 1.54 billion dollars, and the rest will be provided by the two U.S. banks. The loans from Citibank and JPMorgan Chase Bank will be guaranteed by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance. Additional loans will likely be offered according to progress in the projects. Tokyo and Washington agreed in July 2025 on up to 550 billion dollars of investments and loans from Japan to the United States. JBIC and three Japanese megabanks–MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.–extended loans for projects in the first batch. Concerns have been raised, however, that it is difficult for Japanese banks alone to raise necessary dollar funds and that the yen could weaken further if Japanese institutions procure dollars from the market. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]