Few Bank of Japan8301.TO -2.07% watchers expect the central bank to tweak its monetary policy when its board meets next week, but the members are likely to consider expanding a pair of lending programs they see as supporting the BOJ’s efforts to achieve a stable 2% inflation target. To help get the economy out of 15 years of deflation, the BOJ wants commercial banks to reduce the amount of cash parked in safe Japanese government bonds and increase exposure to riskier assets such as loans. Under the two programs, the BOJ offers loans at an annual interest rate of 0.1% to commercial banks that increase lending to ... (full story)