Print

Mail

wiki links

MUFJ incurs losses of US$468m from subprime: reports

Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFJ) incurred about US$468 million in losses related to the US subprime mortgage crisis as of the end of last year, a report said yesterday.

The news came hours after US banking colossus Citigroup announced that it saw a quarterly loss of US$9.83 billion, mainly stemming from the housing slump, sending a fresh wave of worries to global investors.

MUFJ, the world's largest banking group by assets, declined to comment on the report by Kyodo News, which cited unnamed sources.

"We are not yet publicly announcing the subprime loan related figures," an MUFJ spokesman said.

However, the group in October warned of a profit slump because of weak income, subprime loans losses and problems at its credit card subsidiary.

MUFJ said then that the US subprime loan crisis had wiped ?5 billion (US$45.6 million) off its profits for the first half (April to September), while the value of its securities backed by subprime loans in the US had dropped by ?20 billion.

The bank, formed in October 2005 through the merger of Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group and UFJ Holdings, said in October it still had about ?260 billion in subprime related investments.

The banking group also declined to comment yesterday on reports that its core entity, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, was to promote its vice president Katsunori Nagayasu to president in a bid to freshen up its leadership.

Nagayasu, 60, was expected to replace Nobuo Kuroyanagi, 66, as early as this spring, according to media reports, including the Nikkei Shimbun.

Kuroyanagi would step down as the head of the bank, but would remain as the president of the holding company Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, reports said.

BANK OF AMERICA

In other developments, Bank of America said on Tuesday it had put a brokerage division up for sale and that it was cutting 650 jobs from its global investment banking and markets operations.

The banking giant said its moves reflected market conditions and were the result of a strategic review announced in October.

"These changes will sharpen the focus of our capabilities," Bank of America chief executive officer Kenneth Lewis said.
This story has been viewed 1317 times.