A syndicate of Japan's three biggest banks and the state-backed Development Bank of Japan is planning to lend about JPY100 billion yen (USD$1.04 billion) to Japan Airlines as early as this month, the Nikkei business daily said.

The DBJ is expected to put up tens of billions of yen, with Mizuho Corporate Bank contributing a similar amount, the paper said.

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation are seen providing several billion yen each. JAL will use the loan to shore up its short-term cash position, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The airline had sought to borrow up to JPY200 billion from the DBJ under a government program of low-interest financing for cash-starved companies, Nikkei said.

That would have catapulted the bank into the role of JAL's biggest creditor. Avoiding such a situation appears to be one of the syndicate's aims, the paper added.