OSAKA -- The Financial Reconstruction Commission on Thursday approved the sale of the nationalized Kofuku Bank to U.S.-based WL Ross & Co. LLC, which signed a basic agreement with the government-backed Deposit Insurance Corp.
Asia Recovery Fund, operated by WL Ross, will create Kansai Sawayaka Partners L.P. -- its tentative name -- together with WLR Recovery Fund L.P. and CALPERS. The new bank will be set up to take over the operations of Kofuku Bank, and is expected to start operations in January.
It will operate 81 of the failed bank's 123 branches and take on 1,027 of the bank's current 2,000 employees.