TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - Minister of Financial Affairs Hakuo Yanagisawa said the recently created body to purchase banks' cross-shareholdings will start to buy stocks from banks to support the sagging equity market as early as this month. "The month of February sees a routine selling of stocks by companies ahead of the March book-closing and cross-shareholding liquidations this year are adding to the weight on the market," Yanagisawa told a regular briefing. "The weakening in the stockmarket is affecting the banks' health, so the stock-purchasing body should start to buy cross-shareholdings held by banks as early as this month," he said. "In previous years, the selling of stocks continues through to the middle of March so we need to move rapidly. There is mounting concern, I know, over a financial crisis in March so we are paying attention to the market," he said. "However, banks are proceeding with bad-loan disposals steadily so there is no problem," Yanagisawa added.