TOKYO: The Bank of Japan posted latent profits of 308.1 billion yen on its holdings of exchange-traded funds at the end of March, according to its financial results for fiscal 2019 released on Wednesday.

The central bank barely avoided reporting unrealized losses on ETFs, as the stock market recovered from a plunge that stemmed from the novel coronavirus crisis. The bank saw such losses balloon to about 3 trillion yen at one point during the fiscal year to March.

The BOJ's unrealized profits on ETFs at the end of September last year stood at some 4 trillion yen, which was largely wiped away by the COVID-19-triggered market turmoil.

The bank reported net income of 1,295.2 billion yen for fiscal 2019, up from 586.9 billion yen in the previous year. The rise reflects a reduction in reserves booked to prepare for possible future interest rate rises.

From the net income, the BOJ paid 1,230.5 billion yen to state coffers, after deducting money for legal reserves and dividends.

The balance of the central bank's overall assets stood at 604,484.6 billion yen at the end of March, hitting a record high for the eighth straight year. Japanese government bonds accounted for some 485,918.1 billion yen of the total, while ETFs came to 29,718.9 billion yen.

JIJI Press