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TOKYO, May 16 (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Kiyohiko Nishimura said on Saturday that the global financial crisis was in abeyance and that Japan's financial system was stable overall.
"It is also a fact that profit conditions surrounding Japanese banks are becoming more severe, and we will continue to closely monitor the banking sector," Nishimura told a group of academics.
Nishimura has mostly toed the BOJ line on monetary policy and voted for its interest rate cuts, which have brought its key policy target down to 0.1 percent, and its corporate debt buying steps to ease credit strains in the wake of the global financial crisis.
The central bank may upgrade its assessment of the economy when its policy board meets next on May 21-22, sources with knowledge of the matter said on Friday. [ID:nT14922] (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Kim Coghill)