Nippon Credit Bank and Bankers Trust Company formally announced April 25 their agreement to collaborate on securitization of transactions and overseas financial business operations and to hold shares in each other.

Representatives of the two banks said they have already set up a working group to plan the securitization of real estate and other assets ranging in size from 50 billion yen to 100 billion yen. In addition, NCB -- which is to sell all its overseas branches and offices in a plan to restructure -- said it would create a liaison division to coordinate its overseas operations with Bankers Trust so it can continue to serve its customers.

The two financial institutions were also planning limited mutual capital participation once NCB's capital is replenished through the restructuring program. NCB President Hiroshi Kubota said at a joint news conference that the cross-shareholding plan would be limited and serve as a symbol of the collaboration between the two firms, adding that he hopes the arrangement would be beneficial to both parties. "We both saw the merits of the scheme, and we want to become a new bank by learning from Bankers Trust's financial technology, self-reform efforts and risk management methods," Kubota said.

NCB, the smallest of the nation's three long-term credit banks, is currently trying to implement a drastic restructuring scheme to salvage the worthiness of its credit and regain the market's trust. Bankers Trust Vice Chairman George Vojta reaffirmed that his bank's capital participation in NCB would be limited and that it had no intention of becoming a major shareholder. At the same time, he said relations with other Japanese financial institutions would continue.