March 1987 the board of directors of the Public Bond Underwriting Association decided to increase the membership of the board of directors by one and give the new position to a representative of foreign securities firms in Tokyo. The association has 103 members, of which 27 are foreign, but until now has refused to give foreign members a position on the board of directors which basically runs the organization. Monthly net purchases by city banks since the beginning of the year have ranged between 600-800 billion yen. These active purchases have sent bank government bond dealing levels selling. Total dealing by all banks, including city banks, credit banks, trust banks and local banks is estimated at 150 trillion yen for March, 1987.
Present practices require complicated and time consuming procedures to obtain the refund.
Other measures will make it easier for the foreign governments and central banks to hold these securities in accounts at the Bank of Japan. Presently the government issues two, three and four year bonds on an action basis. However ten year bonds, which account for the bulk of the government's financing are handled by a syndicate of underwriters made up of banks and securities companies. Now the government plans by the autumn of 1987 to issue six year bonds on an auction basis and add 15 and 20 year bonds at a later date. Each investor will be limited to five million yen in such investments.