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Nation of savers weathers storm better
Even after 14 years in the white-knuckle world of stock trading, Ken Masuda doesn't sound like a big risk-taker - at least when he talks about his own cash.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:25 December 2, 2008
Tokyo: Even after 14 years in the white-knuckle world of stock trading, Ken Masuda doesn't sound like a big risk-taker - at least when he talks about his own cash.
"I'm more conservative than most Americans when it comes to money," said the 37-year-old Masuda, a Japanese trader who has spent most of his career betting on stocks for a Tokyo brokerage.
"Americans will take a loan to buy a house, and then take another loan to buy another house. That would be unthinkable in Japan. Japan is still a culture of savers."
That frugal culture may be a saving grace for Japan and much of the rest of Asia as the global financial crisis and a worsening economy make it tougher for consumers to repay mounting debt, further straining banking systems and adding to fears of a deep and long worldwide recession.
As more credit card debt, auto loans and other consumer loans sour in the US and Europe, analysts and bankers believe Asia is unlikely to feel the same squeeze, helped by conservative borrowing and a better outlook for labour markets.
Last month, the head of head of Bank of America Corp warned that the US credit card industry could see record losses as overstretched borrowers find it tougher to repay years of easy credit.
US households have accumulated an additional $8 trillion (Dh29.4 trillion) in debt since 1998, bringing the total to $14 trillion, US Federal Reserve figures show.
Less outstanding
Japan's economy is roughly one-third the size of the US economy but government data shows its outstanding consumer debt is about $191 billion, a little more than 1 per cent of US household debt.
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