Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. said Wednesday its MUFG Bank unit plans to expand its scaling back of domestic branches to cut fixed costs, and is now eyeing a 40 percent reduction to around 300 branches by March 2024 compared with its 515 as of March 2018.
MUFG Bank initially planned a 20 percent reduction and then revised the target to 35 percent a year ago. It is undergoing major structural reforms at a time when the Bank of Japan's prolonged monetary easing policy is squeezing profitability in the banking sector.
With customer visits to the branches also declining, the major Japanese bank said it will focus on increasing users of its online banking services by enhancing its smartphone applications.