The loss was attributed to a $550 million addition to loan-loss provisions.

The system took a loan-loss provision of $115 million, compared with $267 million a year earlier.

But bank executives say they have already taken loan-loss provisions for about half that amount.

The Asian crisis is another factor: 35 percent of the first quarter's write-offs related to commercial banks' loan-loss provisions.

It said it was studying whether loan-loss provisions should have been bigger earlier in the year.

Analysts said the review of loan-loss provisions indicates the bank might have misstated its financial condition in previous quarters.

A question among analysts was whether the loan-loss provisions announced today included a cushion for possible losses from derivatives.

The bank said yesterday that it anticipated maintaining its current high level of loan-loss provisions.

The banks must spend another 4 trillion yen ($36 billion) to bring their loan-loss provisions up to industry standards, she added.

Many savings and loans have added to their loan-loss provisions recently to meet new tougher Federal regulations governing the industry.