The chief executive officer of the newly privatized Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan has vowed that he will strive to transform the institution into a highly profitable commercial bank, utilizing high-level expertise from western financial institutions.

Masamoto Yashiro, chief executive officer of the new LTCB, told a news conference on Friday that the bank will aim to achieve a net business profit of 47.8 billion yen in two years and 68.6 billion yen in three years.

The targets compare with an estimated 43 billion yen loss for the current fiscal year that ends March 31.

The LTCB, which collapsed and was placed under state control in October 1998, was officially purchased by an international consortium led by Ripplewood Holdings LLC. for 1 billion yen on Wednesday.

The investors' group will fork out 120 billion yen to boost the capital base of the bank. The capital adequacy ratio will be further increased to 10.9 percent with an injection of public money worth 240 billion yen. The bank applied for an injection of public funds the same day.

The government will pump in the requested funds by buying the bank's preferred stocks.

The LTCB will be renamed Shinsei Bank on June 5.

Under a business plan sketched out by the new management, the bank will dramatically change the way it raises funds and earns profits.

The bank will continue its issuance of bank debentures to raise funds, but only "to play for time," Yashiro said. As a new way of fundraising, the bank will start collecting deposits from both individuals and corporations, he said.

The bank will also put a greater emphasis on consumer banking, expanding into the credit card business, investment trusts sales and Internet banking.

In wholesale banking, the former Japan representative of U.S. bank Citicorp said he wants the bank to gain profits from a new line of services, such as securitization, pension funds management, loan trading and advice for mergers and acquisitions.

"On the whole, (the new businesses) will improve our profitability vis-a-vis assets," he said.

To achieve high profitability, the bank will make risk management its top priority, Yashiro said. The new LTCB has recruited an Indian expert, who now works for Citibank, to head its risk management unit.

Countering speculation that the organization will scale down its workforce, Yashiro stressed that the current size of the payroll will be maintained, and more people will be hired in the future as the bank expands its line of business.

According to the plan submitted to the Financial Reconstruction Commission, the bank will increase the number of employees from an estimated 2,200 at the end of March to 2,400 at the end of March 2001, and to 2,500 a year later.

In addition, the bank will re-launch its international operations in the future, Yashiro said. The bank will need one office each in Europe, the U.S. and Asia to meet the needs of corporations that it has business with, he added.

While the bank is now under foreign ownership, it should be eventually held by Japanese individuals and institutional investors, Yashiro said.

"We want to be listed on the market as soon as possible," he said.