Banks agree to give ¥80 billion in refinancing loans to TEPCO - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun

A group of banks agreed Sept. 27 to extend 80 billion yen ($800 million) in loans to Tokyo Electric Power Co. for refinancing after the struggling utility moved toward restarting two nuclear reactors, bank executives said.

The money will go to repayments due at the end of October on loans of the same amount that were extended to TEPCO before the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami triggered the accident at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

In the coming days, about 30 banks of the group will decide how much of the 80 billion yen each will contribute. They will convey their decision to TEPCO and the government’s Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund by mid-October.

Some of the 30 financial institutions, especially local banks based in areas affected by the March 2011 disaster, remain cautious about lending to TEPCO. If those local banks balk during the discussions, some major banks said they will make up the difference, several bank executives told The Asahi Shimbun.

The decision to grant the new loans came the same day TEPCO applied to the Nuclear Regulation Authority for safety screenings of the No. 6 and No. 7 reactors at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture. The screening process is required before the reactors can be restarted...

more: Banks agree to give ¥80 billion in refinancing loans to TEPCO - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun