SMFG Q4 profit more than triples, expects record annual earnings again

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial,

13/05/2026 08:38

TOKYO, May 13 (Reuters) - Japan's second-largest lender, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group 8316.T, on Wednesday booked a 350% jump in fourth-quarter net profit.

The banking group made 188.20 billion yen ($1.19 billion) in net profit in the January-March quarter, up from 42 billion yen over the same period a year prior.

The results cap off a fruitful year as SMFG generated record annual net profit of 1.583 trillion yen, above last year's record of 1.18 trillion yen, shrugging off the shock of proposed tariffs and rising geopolitical instability.

SMFG forecast a further rise to 1.7 trillion for the current financial year to March 2027.

Japan's banking sector has boomed in recent years as the end of deflation in Japan has sparked a wave of corporate activity such as mergers and acquisitions and growth investment, boosting lending demand.

Alongside, the Bank of Japan's interest rate hikes, beginning in March 2024, has pushed up lending margins.

($1 = 157.6800 yen)

(Reporting by Anton Bridge, Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)

((Anton.Bridge@thomsonreuters.com))