Bank of Yokohama, Chiba Bank to hold news conference at 0500 GMT (updated)
10/07/2019 03:26
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TOKYO, July 10 (Reuters) - Japan's Bank of Yokohama and
Chiba Bank Ltd 8331.T said on Wednesday their presidents would
hold a news conference at 2 p.m. (0500 GMT) in Tokyo regarding a
new partnership.
The tie-up, which would bring two of Japan's biggest local
banks closer together, is the latest to highlight the strain on
smaller banks in the world's third-largest economy, where years
of near-zero interest rates have made traditional banking barely
profitable, meaning scale is needed for survival.
Most regional lenders are facing weak demand from dwindling
populations in many of Japan's prefectures. But Yokohama and
Chiba are both part of the greater Tokyo area, meaning that
demographics and loan demand are among the most favourable in
the country.
Reuters previously reported the business partnership after
the banks confirmed that the tie-up was being considered.
(Reporting by Takashi Umekawa; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)
((Takashi.Umekawa@thomsonreuters.com;))