* Some members say shouldn't have preset idea on exit timing
* Unconventional steps playing key role as safety net-minutes (Adds details)
By Leika Kihara
TOKYO, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Some Bank of Japan policymakers signalled that the bank may end or revise unconventional steps aimed at easing credit strains when they expire in December if financial conditions improve further, minutes of the board's July 14-15 meeting showed on Friday.
But they also said the measures could be extended again if conditions do not improve enough, the minutes showed.
"It's important to make a decision without having any predetermined view," the members were quoted as saying.
At the meeting, the BOJ board voted unanimously to keep buying commercial paper and corporate bonds from banks and continue providing long-term loans to banks at 0.1 percent interest, extending until December the measures it introduced to deal with a crunch in credit markets.
But the three-month extension was shorter than the six months some had expected. It kept benchmark interest rates at 0.1 percent in July as well as at its subsequent meeting earlier this week.
The board currently has one vacancy, leaving it with eight members.
Most board members said credit market conditions were still severe enough to justify extending the measures until December, with some saying they were playing an important role as a safety net.
But the board agreed that the period of extension should be three months, rather than six, reflecting significant improvements in market conditions, the minutes showed.
Credit markets have been on the mend, thanks partly to the BOJ's measures, after being hit severely by the global financial crisis triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September.
Bank lending rose 2.1 percent in July from a year earlier, slowing further from a record gain in January, as big firms relied less on banks for funding.
Some analysts have warned of the side-effects of maintaining the corporate fund-support steps too long. The BOJ's buying of commercial paper has pushed interest rates on such debt so low that some issuers have been able to borrow funds even more cheaply than the government.
The central bank's recent offers to buy CP have attracted few bids, in another sign markets no longer need this support.
But many market players expect the central bank to keep at least some of these measures in place beyond December as a safety net for corporate finance due to uncertainty over the economic outlook.
Japan's economy is expected to have grown 1.0 percent in April-June after four straight quarters of contraction due to a pickup in exports and personal consumption spurred by stimulus spending at home and abroad, a Reuters poll showed. GDP figures are due on Monday.
But economists warn that any recovery will be fragile because doubts about the sustainability of end demand remain with recent output gains driven mostly by government stimulus. (Editing by Chris Gallagher)