Japan's Iyogin, Ehime Bank in final stages of merger talks, Nikkei reports (updated)

The Ehime Bank

23/07/2026 19:30

Updates with further detail from paragraph 2 onwards
July 24 (Reuters) - Japanese lenders Iyogin Holdings 5830.T, the parent company of Iyo Bank, and Ehime Bank 8541.T are in the final stages of discussing a merger, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday.
The two firms are expected to announce a combination plan as early as Friday and are considering forming a holding company under which both banks would operate in a process that could be completed as early as April next year, the report said.
Nikkei added that the merged entity would have total assets of about 12 trillion yen ($73.26 billion), based on their size as of March, putting it among the 20 largest regional banking groups in Japan.
Iyogin has a market capitalisation of around $6.79 billion based on the stock's last close on Thursday, while Ehime's market cap stands at about $606.2 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Both Ehime-focused lenders in combination would serve as the main bank for about 70% of companies in the prefecture, which has an active shipping and shipbuilding industry, Nikkei said.
Competition in financing for ships has grown in recent years, and the merger would enable the two to combine their know-how in the growth area, the article added.
Iyogin and Ehime could not be immediately reached for comment outside normal business hours.

($1 = 163.8100 yen)

 (Reporting by Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
 ((Nikita.Jino@thomsonreuters.com;))