Furthermore, BES reported a total of EUR 853 million of debt securities issued by GES entities and held directly by BES retail customers, as well as a total of EUR 2 billion held by institutional clients, considered qualified investors.
In the foreign exchange market, the yen appreciated further against the U.S. dollar in late November, and is recently been traded in the range of 102-104 yen. With regard to corporate finance, private banks have basically retained their cautious lending attitude. However, constraint that had been caused by severe fund-raising conditions and insufficient capital base has eased considerably.