They are not broke, begging the government for hand-outs or paying monstrous amounts of money to their executives. Instead, Japanese banks are doing much the same as always: keeping loan books ticking over on wafer-thin net interest margins and missing profit forecasts. As strategies go, this is not a humdinger.

Japan’s three megabanks have recently acknowledged some of those weaknesses as they tap the markets for about $20bn. But they now appear to be redoing their sums on the hoof. Less than a month ago, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group indicated it would raise about $4bn; on Thursday it unveiled plans to issue $5.8bn of preferred securities and warned more may follow. That looks a safe bet. Its bad loans, like those of its peers, are rising as the economy sours. Credit costs have doubled and the bank expects net profits to fall 61 per cent this year; consensus numbers suggest that is optimistic.