In particular, as operating profits from the core business have been remaining low, a significant increase in credit costs and losses on stocks might immediately bring periodical income into the red. In fact, eight times in the past 20 years, the sum of credit costs and losses related to stocks reached a level more than that of operating profits from the core business.
While the level of credit costs fairly declined, reflecting the completion of the disposal of impaired assets, it started to rise again in fiscal 2008 due to the economic downturn.