Resona Holdings Inc.'s new asset management unit, which opens for business on Sept. 16, expects to be overseeing ¥1.3 trillion by 2021 as households invest more of their savings because of near record-low interest rates.

"There's been a strong tailwind driving the investment needs of retail customers since the launch of Abenomics," Akihiro Nishiyama, president of Resona Asset Management Co., said in an interview in Tokyo on Tuesday. He aims to reach ¥120 billion in assets under management in the first 18 months of operation and at least ¥1.3 trillion by the end of March 2021.

Average interest rates on new loans in Japan have been below 1 percent for more than two years, squeezing lending profits and prompting banks to focus on bolstering fee income by selling financial products. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. merged its asset management units in July, and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. announced similar plans in March.