BOJ reports loss for first time in 32 years

Bank of Japan Financial Statements

The bank reported a current loss, or pretax loss from operations, for the first time since the fiscal year ended March 1972, when the Japanese currency also surged. The bank reported a 229.8 billion yen current loss that year.

Following the current loss reported Friday, net income, which the Bank of Japan must pay to the government and set aside to boost capital and dividends, shrank to 55.5 billion yen from 594.4 billion yen a year before, the bank said.

Japan sold a record 32.9 trillion yen last fiscal year to help stem the Japanese currency's gain and protect an export- driven recovery.

The central bank also said its capital-to-asset ratio fell to 7.33 percent as of March 31, down from 7.62 percent the year before, the lowest since March 1980.