The Japanese Bankers Association, or Zenginkyo, plans to launch a background check system as early as January 2018 to ensure borrowers do not have financial ties to organized crime, Jiji Press reported Sept. 27.

The system will use the National Police Agency's database to check for loan applicants' connections to crime syndicates.

The stricter screening system is expected to make it harder for banks to approve loans on the same day that applications are filed and curb banks' practice of extending unsecured loans with no collateral to bank card holders.