The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, a leading commercial bank, will promote Vice President Satoru Kishi to the post of president to replace current President Tasuku Takagaki, the bank announced Friday.

The change is effective from Jan. 1, 1998, when Takagaki will become the bank's chairman. He will replace present Chairman Tsuneo Wakai, who is retiring from the post to become a counselor for the bank.

The announcement was timed to enable Kishi to make preparations to head the Federation of Bankers Association of Japan next April, according to Takagaki. Takagaki has served as president since April 1996, when the bank was created through a merger of Mitsubishi Bank and the Bank of Tokyo.

The announcement also comes after the bank has conducted a radical writeoff of nonperforming loans, worth 1.1 trillion yen, in the first half of fiscal 1997. "We are trying to respond appropriately to the 'Big Bang"' as details of the financial deregulation measures unfold, Kishi told a news conference.

Kishi said the bank has no specific plan regarding the financial holding company system, which is expected to be legalized in fiscal 1998 and begin in April the same year. Commenting on his management style, Kishi stressed the importance of teamwork, saying he wants to create an environment where each employee can demonstrate their individual abilities.

Kishi, 67, dismissed any criticism of his relatively old age by saying, "It is like late childbearing. Many people give birth to healthy children despite their old age." Kishi originally comes from the former Mitsubishi Bank and Takagaki from the former Bank of Tokyo. Concerning the practice of merged firms assigning posts to personnel from alternating firms of origin, Kishi said there is no rule being considered to either continue or discontinue the practice.