Japan’s biggest banks raised their annual profit forecasts to fresh records and unveiled plans to buy back shares, reaping the rewards from the nation’s rising interest rates and buoyant stock market.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group now project a combined ¥3.7 trillion ($24 billion) in profit this fiscal year after first-half results were boosted by lending income and gains from sales of shareholdings.
The results underscore how the Tokyo-based lenders are benefiting from the Bank of Japan’s interest-rate increases following years of ultraeasy monetary policy. They’re also willing to share more of their swelling profits with investors and stepping up their reduction of so-called strategic shareholdings of other firms.
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