Japan Post Holdings Co. hired Katsunori Sago, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive in the country, as head of asset management at its banking unit as it reallocates its portfolio.
Sago will start on June 1, the state-owned company said in a statement Friday.
He will oversee the bank's assets as it pares holdings of government bonds to increase returns in preparation for an initial public offering scheduled for later this year. Japan Post began advertising for risk and fund managers this year in search of people qualified to oversee the portfolio shift.
Sago worked for about 22 years at Goldman Sachs's Japanese unit, where he became deputy president. He stepped down from the role last June and served as an adviser and vice chairman before leaving the firm.
Japan Post sold about ¥24 trillion of the nation's bonds in the year ended March, cutting its holdings to ¥154.9 trillion. Its Japan Post Bank Co. unit still had 51.8 percent of its assets in local sovereign debt, the company said this month. It has the most deposits of any financial institution in the country.
Former Citigroup Inc. executive Masatsugu Nagato joined Japan Post Bank as its president earlier this month. The holding company and its banking and insurance arms are preparing for IPOs as soon as September.