The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ is going to lose at least ¥1 billion in bad loans linked to the same Tokyo real estate agency that has allegedly caused more than ¥10 billion in losses at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., banking industry sources have said.
BTMU is though to have extended billions of yen to companies it was introduced to by Koshi Trust. The major bank estimates that more than ¥1 billion of the loans are irrecoverable.
On Friday, SMBC officials said it extended ¥17 billion in loans to about 60 firms introduced by Koshi Trust, and that around ¥10 billion of that appears irrecoverable.
Documents related to loans BTMU gave to the companies in question were allegedly falsified, people familiar with the matter said, adding that a major crime syndicate may have been involved in the matter.
A senior BTMU official said the bank had concluded Koshi Trust was a legitimate company when it decided to give it loans.
Founded in July 2000, Koshi Trust had offices in Fukuoka and in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture. The privately held company has become dormant since its dubious activities were discovered and its president has disappeared, the sources said.
Koshi Trust has been introducing companies to BTMU for several years, but the bank is now thinking of filing a criminal complaint against it.
A yakuza served as a director on Koshi Trust's board between September 2005 and March 2007.