Resona Holdings Inc. and Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co. are close to striking a deal on capital and operational tieups as banks and insurers increasingly move to beef up business relations ahead of further deregulation, industry sources said Sunday.

Resona, the holding company of Resona Bank and Saitama Resona Bank, plans to issue about 100 billion yen worth of preferred shares to Dai-ichi, the sources said, adding negotiations have entered their final stage with a target of reaching an agreement by the end of July.

The companies are studying an operational alliance that would enable Resona to sell Dai-ichi's insurance products at its branch banks after the full deregulation scheduled in December for over-the-counter sales of insurance policies by banks.