NAGOYA (Kyodo) Juroku Bank said Wednesday it has decided to invest ¥5 billion in Gifu Bank to strengthen the struggling regional's financial standing.
The investment will be made by buying preferred shares in Gifu Bank and is part of a business and capital tieup the two banks inked the same day. Both are based in Gifu.
The two regional lenders may end up integrating in the future, industry analysts say.
After receiving a ¥12 billion government bailout in 2001, Gifu Bank explored ways to rebuild independently but gave up as performance deteriorated.
Gifu Bank was shooting for a parent-only net profit in fiscal 2007 through last March, but fell more than 30 percent short of its goal, prompting the Financial Services Agency to issue a business improvement order.