Japan's finance minister says the direct impact of Credit Suisse's write-down of its AT1 bonds is limited in Japan.

The Swiss financial authorities instructed the troubled financial group to completely write down the bonds, worth around 16 billion Swiss francs, or about 17 billion dollars. This comes as the government is providing support for the group's takeover by the fellow Swiss bank UBS.

AT1 bonds deliver relatively high yields, making them attractive to investors willing to take risk. Credit Suisse sold the bonds to institutional investors and others.

Finance Minister Suzuki Shunichi spoke about the matter at a meeting of the Upper House budget committee on Tuesday.
Suzuki said the value of the bonds held by Japanese financial institutions is low, and the direct impact of the write-down is currently limited.

He pointed out that some investment trusts hold the bonds, but they account for only a small portion of their portfolios.

The minister also said some businesses and wealthy individuals that hold them have suffered losses.

He said his ministry will cooperate with foreign financial authorities and closely monitor the effects on the stability of the financial system.