JPMorgan and US Banks Near Deal to Finance Japan's $550 Billion Investment Pledge

US banks, including JPMorgan, are close to agreeing to provide financing for Japan's $550 billion US investment pledge. The Japanese government wants to show it is making progress on its commitments made to President Donald Trump.

The two people familiar with the talks between lenders and the Japanese government said that such financing would help Tokyo deliver on its promises. However, Japanese banks have been reluctant to participate due to their funding base being in yen, which can make it costly for them to obtain huge amounts of US dollars for long-term infrastructure projects.

So far, only $2.2 billion in financing has been committed for the first batch of investments, with roughly one-third provided by state-backed Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the remainder co-financed by megabanks Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, and Mizuho Financial Group.

The U.S. Department of Commerce did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Reuters was able to learn that Washington has sent a list of candidates for additional projects under the investment scheme to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government.