The nation's biggest banks, poised to achieve record annual earnings after last year's stock market surge, may still disappoint investors as the equity rally fades, leaving them reliant on a lending recovery for profit.
Net income at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. totaled ¥2.1 trillion in the nine months that ended in December, company statements show.
That represents 91 percent of their combined target of ¥2.26 trillion for the year ending March 31, which would be the most since the three mega-bank regime started with the creation of Mitsubishi UFJ in 2005.