...Ministry has to act to prevent a crisis of confidence and we are in somewhat of a crisis of confidence now," said James Fiorillo, an analyst at ING Barings. Japan's government is pushing banks to write off bad loans they amassed in the late...

...bank in the United States -- Citigroup, at $668.6 billion. Similar restructuring is likely to continue, said James Fiorillo, an analyst with ING Barings in Tokyo. "The Sakura-Sumitomo news puts a sense of urgency on possible alliances...

...winners and losers. "We wanted to see if the government would be willing to close down non-viable banks," said James Fiorillo, a senior analyst at ING Baring Securities in Tokyo. One group that stood to suffer was LTCB's shareholders...

...and open to interpretation. "Just having measures in place doesn't mean they'll be used efficiently," said James Fiorillo, an analyst at ING Barings in Tokyo. The compromise plan does not answer the question of how much taxpayer money...