All of Japan's top six banks reported better earnings for the April-December period than a year ago, backed by decreased bad-loan disposal costs or lower stock investment losses, according to financial statements released as of Monday.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. and three smaller lenders are projecting net profits for the 2009 business year ending March 31.
Although the banks had relatively lower exposure to risky investments compared with their U.S. and European peers, they logged net losses or slimmer profits in the 2008 business year due to an increase in bad loans and plummeting share prices in the wake of the global financial crisis.