finance
Bank of Japan Balance Sheet Shrinks $146 Billion in Q2 to $3.97 Trillion, Lowest Since 2020
The central bank's balance sheet contracted by the largest quarterly amount since quantitative tightening began in 2024. Japanese government bond holdings also declined sharply during the period.
Jul 10, 3:42 PM·1m read1 source
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The Bank of Japan’s total assets declined by $146 billion in the second quarter of 2026 to $3.97 trillion, the lowest level since the first quarter of 2020. The drop represents the largest quarterly reduction since the central bank’s quantitative tightening program started in August 2024. Since the peak in the first quarter of 2024, the balance sheet has shrunk by $726 billion, or 15.6 percent.
Japanese government bond holdings fell by $78 billion during the quarter to $3.22 trillion. That total marks the lowest point since the third quarter of 2020. Holdings have decreased by $459 billion, or 12.5 percent, since their peak in 2023.
The Bank of Japan sold $74 million in equity ETFs and J-REITs in the quarter. Its combined holdings in those assets declined 1 percent to $234 billion, the lowest level since 2022.
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