OSAKA -- Kofuku Bank, a second-tier regional bank, said Monday that it will request about 60 billion yen in public funds under the government recapitalization program as its capital-to-asset ratio was about 0.5 percent as of the end of March.
Bank President Tokusuke Egawa told a press conference he will "take responsibility" for the situation eventually, meaning he may step down.
The bank suffered an estimated pretax loss of 62.1 billion yen for fiscal 1998, which ended March 31, after writing off bad loans worth 69.4 billion yen.
The Financial Supervisory Agency ordered the Osaka-based bank last month to immediately boost its capital as the agency's inspection showed that the bank had a 46 billion yen capital deficit at the end of September 1998.
While the bank has been seeking a way to increase its capital through third-party allotment of new shares, the amount was too large for the bank to raise on its own, Egawa said.
He said the bank is reducing its workforce and closing some branches, among other restructuring measures.