| (Provisional translation) April 11, 1999 Financial Supervisory Agency The Government of Japan | 
| Statement by the Commissioner | 
― On the Kokumin Bank Limited ―
| 1. | Today, the Financial  
    Reconstruction Commission (the FRC) has decided to place operations of the Kokumin Bank  
    Limited (the Kokumin Bank) and management of its assets under financial reorganization  
    administrators pursuant to Article 8 of the Law concerning Emergency Measures for the  
    Reconstruction of the Function of the Financial System (the Law) based on the report  
    submitted by the Kokumin Bank to the FRC pursuant to Article 68-1 of the Law. | 
| 2. | While the Kokumin Bank will  
    continue its normal operations under the financial reorganization administrators, the  
    Financial Supervisory Agency (the FSA) issued to the Kokumin Bank, immediately after its  
    submission of the report to the FRC, a management improvement order based on Article 26 of  
    the Banking Law, with a view to preventing the deterioration of its asset quality. Thus,  
    the Kokumin Bank is required to manage its business in a sound manner. | 
| 3. | 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, etc. With these efforts, the FSA intends to expeditiously 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. |