Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co and Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc, the smallest of Japan's seven major banks, posted losses for a second year, leaving them requiring a profit rebound, which they both predicted, to bolster capital.
Tokyo-based Sumitomo Trust had a group net loss of Japanese Yen 73 billion (US$624 million) for the year ended March 31, compared with a loss of ?42 billion a year earlier. The bank said it expects net income of Japanes Yen 44 billion this business year.
Mitsui Trust's net loss narrowed to Japanese Yen 96.7 billion from ?278 billion in the period. It predicted a Japanese Yen 75 billion profit for this fiscal year.
A return to profit is crucial for Japanese banks because their capital has been depleted by bad loan write-offs and stock- market declines. Resona Holdings Inc, Japan's fifth-largest bank, is seeking a government bailout because of a capital shortfall.
``Japanese banks have weak capital as highlighted by Resona, and never-ending bad-loan stories,'' said Masaru Ogawa, who helps manage US$2.4 billion in Asian equities at Aberdeen Asset Man-agement, and doesn't own any shares of Japanese lenders.
Resona said its net loss for the business year totaled ?837 billion, reiterating the number it gave on May 17 when it said it would seek public funds. Resona didn't provide a forecast for this business year.
Sumitomo Trust's loss cut its capital adequacy ratio, a measure of its viability, to 10.48 percent at the end of March, compared with 11.56 percent at the end of September of last year. The bank is required to keep the ratio above 8 percent.
Keeping the ratio above the minimum level may depend on how many tax credits banks can book to reflect their future profit outlook.
Resona's auditors slashed the amount of deferred tax assets it could book, draining a key source of capital.
Sumitomo Trust's deferred tax assets rose to Japanese Yen 279.4 billion in March from Japanese Yen 225.2 billion in September, reflecting its future profit estimates. Mitsui Trust's loss was almost double its previous forecast after it booked a fifth fewer tax credits than at the end of September.
Mitsui Trust booked Japanese Yen 344.6 billion of deferred tax assets on a group basis, from Japanese Yen 432 billion six months earlier.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source