BOJ warns economy vulnerable to riskier lending practices of financial firms

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan on Thursday warned the country's banking system is becoming increasingly fragile as financial institutions boost risky lending and investment in an environment of prolonged ultra-low interest rates."Credit costs remain low but have recently started to rise, particularly for regional financial institutions," the BOJ said in a semi-annual report analysing Japan's banking system.Regional banks have been actively taking risks via lending and investment as..