The lending attitudes of financial institutions have been positive reflecting expansion of risk-taking capacity as a result of improvement in their financial condition, and in this  2  BIS Review 54/2007  situation, the amount outstanding of lending by private banks has been increasing. In sum, the financial environment continues to be accommodative, both in terms of interest rates and availability of funds.
The yen in terms of the real effective exchange rate has been moving at around its lowest level since the 1985 Plaza Accord, and this has been supporting growth in Japan's exports. Increases in asset prices, such as a more widely observed upturn in land prices, particularly in major cities, also seem to be exerting upward pressure on private demand. IV.