Mizuho Financial Group Inc. and nine other banks responded to business-improvement orders Friday by cutting their projected fiscal 2003 earnings.

The orders were issued when the banks' promised profits for fiscal 2001 and 2002 turned into steep losses.

Mizuho's forecast fell 9 percent to a net profit of 200.1 billion yen. In May, the bank had forecast a 220 billion yen profit.