Daishi, Hokuetsu banks near agreement to merge operations - NHK (updated)
16/03/2017 09:28
(Adds background)
TOKYO, March 16 (Reuters) - Japan's Daishi Bank 8324.T and
Hokuetsu Bank 8325.T are in the final stages of agreeing to
integrate operations, public broadcaster NHK said on Thursday,
in another move that would consolidate regional lenders as the
nation's population shrinks.
The two banks, based in Niigata prefecture on the Sea of
Japan coast in the north of the country, are looking to form a
joint holding company by around next spring to bolster their
operational bases, NHK said, without citing the sources for this
information.
Representatives from Hokuetsu Bank and Daishi Bank were not
immediately available for comment.
Japan has roughly 100 regional banks, but the shrinking
population and the Bank of Japan's negative interest-rate policy
are putting the squeeze on many lenders, prompting a few to
begin the merger process and take other steps to shore up
operations.
If the two banks are combined under the holding company,
they would control 51 percent of the lending in Niigaga
prefecture, according to the Financial Journal Co, an industry
publication.
Fukuoka Financial Group Inc 8354.T , the largest banking
group in Japan's southern island of Kyushu, is planning to buy
Eighteenth Bank Ltd 8396.T , and merge it with another local
bank Shinwa Bank Ltd that is already under the control of
Fukuoka Financial.
The plan, announced a year ago, has been suspended for a
review by the Fair Trade Commission, as the two banks, both
based in Nagasaki prefecture, would control more than 70 percent
of the lending in the prefecture.
(Reporting by Junko Fujita and Thomas Wilson; Writing by
William Mallard; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
((william.mallard@thomsonreuters.com; +81 3 6441 1469; Reuters
Messaging: william.mallard.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: JAPAN BANKS/DAISHI BANK HOKUETSU BANK