Consumer credit firms Nippon Shinpan Co. and UFJ Card Co. said Friday they have signed an accord to merge in April 2005.
The merger will create one of the nation's largest credit card operators.
The new company, UFJ NICOS Co., will be launched in Tokyo on April 1 and serve a combined 20 million card holders nationwide. Nippon Shinpan will be the surviving entity, and its president, Kazuhiro Omori, will head the new company, the two said.
Merger ratio and other details will be decided later this year, they said.
Nippon Shinpan is 7.82 percent owned by UFJ Bank under UFJ Holdings Inc., while UFJ Card is owned 99.98 percent by UFJ Bank. The two began merger negotiations in January. The new company is expected to serve as a core unit in the financial group's retailing division.