The economic recession and tumbling stock market forced most of Japan's major banking groups to report losses in the business year that ended in March.

On Tuesday, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. reported a group net loss of ¥256.9 billion in the 2008 business year, in stark contrast with the net profit of ¥636.62 billion it posted a year earlier.

MUFG said it spent ¥608.4 billion to write off bad loans for the year, while its shareholdings took a ¥408.7 billion hit. For the current year to March 2010, it is forecasting a net profit of ¥300 billion.