BoJ Deputy Governor Himino says hard to predict BoJ's profits in general and there is no significant market impact from ETF sales so far, adds not planning a further review of ETF sales at this time

BoJ Deputy Governor Himino says hard to predict BoJ's profits in general and there is no significant market impact from ETF sales so far, adds not planning a further review of ETF sales at this time.

The BoJ's gradual disposal of its equity ETF holdings has been running on a deliberately glacial schedule, sized to be absorbed without disturbing the cash equity market, and official commentary has consistently stressed that market neutrality is the binding constraint on pace. Remarks confirming no significant market impact and no further review planned read as continuity rather than news: episodes of this kind have historically mattered less for the disposal itself than for any hint that the tolerance for faster sales, or for losses on the central bank's own balance sheet, is shifting. The deputy governor's framing on the difficulty of forecasting BoJ profits touches the separate question of the bank's capital position as policy normalises, a sensitivity that has surfaced in past tightening phases whenever rising rates compress the carry on its balance sheet. The actors matter here: deputy governors tend to carry the operational and market-functioning brief, so comments on ETF mechanics from this seat are closer to the plumbing than to the rate debate. What is worth watching is any change in the disclosed pace of sales, the treatment of the holdings in the bank's accounts, and whether the topic migrates from technical briefings into board-level discussion, which is where it has historically signalled a policy-relevant shift rather than housekeeping.