| (Provisional Translation) May 22, 1999 Financial Supervisory Agency The Government of Japan | 
| Statement by the Commissioner | 
― On the Kofuku Bank Ltd. ―
| 1. | In view of the low level of the capital adequacy 
    ratio of the Kofuku Bank Ltd. at the end of March, 1999, which reflects the result of the 
    financial inspection of the bank - as of September 30, 1998 - conducted by the Financial 
    Supervisory Agency (FSA), the FSA issued an order of Prompt Corrective Action to the bank 
    on May 14, 1999, pursuant to Article 26 of the Banking Law and Article 3-3 of the 
    Financial Function Early Strengthening Law. Specifically, the FSA required the bank to 
    choose among the following corrective measures and quickly implement them: significant 
    increase in capital, drastic curtailment of business, merger, or closure of banking 
    business, etc. | 
| 2. | Following the above-mentioned order, the FSA 
    received, on May 21, a report from the bank that it would close its banking business. On 
    the same day, the bank submitted to the Financial Reconstruction Commission (FRC) a report 
    according to Article 68-2 of the Law concerning Emergency Measures for the Reconstruction 
    of the Function of the Financial System (Law). Based on this report, the FRC has decided 
    today to place operations of the bank and management of its assets under financial 
    reorganization administrators, pursuant to Article 8 of the Law. | 
| 3. | While the bank will continue its normal 
    operations under the financial reorganization administrators, the FSA issued to the bank, 
    immediately after the bank's submission of the report to the FRC mentioned above, a 
    management improvement order based on Article 26 of the Banking Law. This order aims to 
    prevent the deterioration of the bank's asset quality through requiring the bank to manage 
    its business in a sound manner. | 
| 4. | The FSA will continue to make use of its 
    supervisory power in an appropriate manner through the strengthened on-site inspection and 
    off-site monitoring, and strict enforcement of the Prompt Corrective Action. With these 
    efforts, the FSA intends to further strengthen the Japanese financial system by ensuring 
    sound management of individual financial institutions. The FSA will thereby make its 
    utmost efforts to protect depositors and others, to maintain orderly financial system, and 
    to ensure the stability of the financial markets at home and abroad. |