Japan’s biggest banks on Friday warned of a bleaker outlook for the next six months as the resurgent pandemic slams economies, even as they reported first-half profits that exceeded expectations.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. raised their full-year profit targets, thanks mainly to strong results from trading and serving cash-strapped corporate clients in the six months ended Sept. 30. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. kept its forecast unchanged even after achieving two-thirds of the goal.
Stimulus measures taken by governments and central banks at home and abroad have helped to curtail an increase in bad-loan costs. Yet with coronavirus infections surging, the risk is that the crisis will linger and companies and households will be less able to repay their debts once the relief wears off.