Editorials Aug 29, 2018
The upheaval in Japan's demographics is causing a shake-up in the regional banking sector, requiring wise oversight by regulators.
NEWSWORTHY
Business / Corporate Aug 24, 2018
Japan's Fair Trade Commission approves bank integration in Nagasaki after lengthy review
The Fair Trade Commission said Friday that it has approved a business integration plan involving regional banks in Nagasaki Prefecture. Those planning the integration are Fukuoka Financial Group Inc., the parent of Sasebo-based Shinwa Bank, and Eighteenth Bank Ltd., based in the city of Nagasaki. The ...
Business / Corporate | FOCUS Aug 24, 2018
Mizuho's new leader Tatsufumi Sakai gears up to reform struggling mega-bank
by Taiga Uranaka
When Tatsufumi Sakai was named chief executive and president of Mizuho Financial Group this year, many bankers and investors were surprised. The low-key book lover represented a sharp contrast with Yasuhiro Sato, his bold, charismatic predecessor, who was vocal about his ambitions for Japan's second-largest ...
Business / Corporate Aug 22, 2018
Japan's FTC mulls approval of precedent-setting merger of Nagasaki regional banks
The Fair Trade Commission is considering approving a long-discussed merger plan involving regional banks in Nagasaki Prefecture, according to informed sources. The plan involves Fukuoka Financial Group Inc., the parent of Sasebo-based Shinwa Bank, and Eighteenth Bank, based in the city of Nagasaki. In a proposal ...
Business Aug 21, 2018
Japan offers clue for British banks' future in Europe after Brexit, U.K. says
by Ian Wishart
The U.K. now sees its banks having a similar relationship with the European Union after leaving the bloc as Japanese ones do. The latest U.K. paper published Monday confirms the government wants a form of "equivalence" on financial services — where the EU recognizes that ...
Business Aug 11, 2018
Higashi-Nippon Bank's chairman to resign over lending scandal
Higashi-Nippon Bank announced Friday that Chairman Michito Ishii will step down at the end of the month over its involvement in improper lending practices. Many improper loans were extended between 2015 and 2017, when Ishii, 66, was president of the regional bank. Ishii, a former commissioner ...
World / Politics Aug 10, 2018
Russia tells Washington curbs on its banks would be act of economic war
Russia warned the United States on Friday it would regard any U.S. move to curb the activities of its banks as a declaration of economic war which it would retaliate against, stepping up a war of words with Washington over spiralling sanctions. The warning, from ...
Business / Corporate Aug 10, 2018
Convenience store chain Lawson Inc. said Friday it will launch a banking business in October using its existing network of more than 13,000 automated teller machines nationwide. Its subsidiary Lawson Bank earned a license to start the business from the Financial Services Agency the same ...
World Aug 10, 2018
Russia and China on Thursday blocked a U.S. request to add a Russian bank to a U.N. sanctions blacklist along with a North Korean official and two entities, diplomats said. The United States last week asked a U.N. sanctions committee to slap an assets freeze ...
Asia Pacific / Crime & Legal Jul 5, 2018
The cover-up: Malaysian officials reveal just how much 1MDB probe was obstructed
The government of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak spent years systematically obstructing probes into the alleged looting of state fund 1MDB while also ruthlessly muzzling critics, according to current and former government officials. They said the meddling in the investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption ...
Business Jun 22, 2018
The Financial Services Agency has told banks to report any suspicious money transfers involving 10 Japan-North Korea joint ventures, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Friday. A government official and a manager at a major Japanese bank said the agency on Monday ...
Business | YEN FOR LIVING Jun 8, 2018
Days are numbered for ATMs in Japan's banking system
by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku
On May 2, Shinsei Bank announced that starting from October it will impose fees for automatic teller machine (ATM) transactions. Shinsei's main sales point has always been its lack of ATM fees, but the bank will start charging ¥108 per ATM withdrawal unless the ...