Bank of Japan's balance sheet contracted $146B in Q2 2026 as quantitative tightening accelerates, marking the largest quarterly decline since QT began in August 2024.
Macro & Markets ·
The Bank of Japan's balance sheet contracted $146 billion in the second quarter of 2026, falling to $3.97 trillion and marking the largest quarterly decline since quantitative tightening began in August 2024. Japanese government bond holdings dropped $78 billion to $3.22 trillion, while equity ETF and J-REIT sales totaled $74 million as the central bank continues unwinding its expanded balance sheet. Since the start of 2024, the BoJ has reduced total assets by $726 billion, or 15.6 percent, with JGB holdings down $459 billion, or 12.5 percent, from their 2023 peak.