efficient resource allocation from a macroeconomic perspective, which endogenously enhances economic growth. the banker discussed here is not confined only to the literal meaning of a banker. they include investors such as venture capitalists who have an eye for assessing the businesses and risks of startups. the role of capital markets, including stock and corporate debt markets, would also be considered as the banker in a broad sense. moreover, fintech firms have begun to partly play the role of what schumpeter calls a " banker " in recent years. let me explain in more detail. taking advantage of corporate payments and commercial information as discussed, a range of commercial and financial services are now provided in an integrated manner with smartphones. commercial and financial functions are closely linked and inseparable ; this has not changed since the olden days. as banks used to provide credit mainly by discounting commercial bills, lending services were essentially incorporated into commercial businesses. that is, banks engaged in payment services with access to commercial information, which enabled them to provide credit efficiently to the economy. given payment information is derived from commercial information, the latter is more fundamental than the former. clients'commercial information is the key to better assessing their creditworthiness. in other words, ensuring access to fundamental commercial information enables even nonbanks to gain a competitive advantage in information production, and perform financial intermediation functions. indeed, fintech firms, including accounting software vendors, have started accumulating corporate commercial and payment information in recent years. a chronic labor shortage in japan has facilitated the introduction of accounting software in the corporate sector to streamline the bookkeeping process. with clients'consent, fintech firms such as accounting software vendors can access granular payment and commercial information in an efficient and instant manner. in addition, artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies help analyze data to assess clients'creditworthiness. a wider access to clients'commercial and payment information by fintech firms has led to the recent expansion of transaction lending businesses. schumpeter describes innovation as " new combinations " in his original book. fintech firms have literally achieved a " new combination " as " entrepreneurs " by incorporating accounting information processing, and credit information production, to provide transaction lending services. this new combination helps establish efficient lending frameworks that reduce costs for credit assessment, shorten screening processes, and improve the performance of credit risk models. in the meantime, meeting the demand for loans from clients is a challenge for some fintech firms that do

hiroshi nakaso : japan ’ s economy and monetary policy speech by mr hiroshi nakaso, deputy governor of the bank of japan, at a meeting with business leaders, shimane, 9 october 2013. * * * introduction it is my great pleasure to be given an opportunity today to exchange views with administrative, financial, and business leaders in shimane prefecture. i would like to take this opportunity to express my sincerest gratitude for your cooperation with the activities of the bank of japan ’ s matsue branch. on a personal note, my relationship with the san - in region goes back long years. my father was born in yonago, tottori, and i have visited his birthplace several times. the reason why i feel nostalgic, despite this being my first time in matsue, is that my roots are in this region. japan ’ s economy has long been in a state of deflation, since the financial crisis of the 1990s. for japan ’ s economy to escape this situation and restore its vitality, it is most important to first overcome deflation and change the mind - sets of economic entities such as firms and households so that they become more proactive. in this sense, the biggest immediate challenge facing japan ’ s economy is the overcoming of deflation at the earliest possible time, and i realize that the role the bank of japan has to play is crucial. based on this recognition, the bank introduced a new policy in april, called “ quantitative and qualitative monetary easing ” ( qqe ). today, before exchanging views with you, i would like to talk about economic developments at home and abroad. i will also elaborate on the thinking behind the qqe. lastly, i will talk about economic development in this region. i. recent developments and outlook for economic activity at home and abroad recent developments and outlook for japan ’ s economy first, i will focus on japan ’ s economy. a virtuous circle from income to spending has gradually been taking hold both in the household and business sectors. in the household sector, private consumption has been resilient. sales at department stores have remained firm and consumption of services such as outlays for travel and sales in the food service industry have held steady. with underlying active consumption by senior citizens, notably baby boomers, such resilience in private consumption seems to have been sustained mainly by wealth effects stemming from a rise in stock prices and an improvement in sentiment since the turn of