The new buyers of Nippon Credit Bank plan to rename the lender Aozora Bank, sources close to the consortium said Thursday.
The sale of the nationalized bank to a consortium led by Internet investor Softbank Corp. is scheduled to go through today.
The buyers are planning to start using Aozora -- which in Japanese means blue sky -- on Jan. 1, after taking time to adjust computer systems, the sources said.
"Aozora signifies freshness, which is suitable for the new, reborn bank," one source said.
NCB collapsed under the weight of bad loans and was placed under state control in late 1998.
The Softbank consortium, which includes major leasing company Orix Corp. and top nonlife insurer Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co., plans to hold NCB's first shareholders' meeting and board meeting on Monday, before the bank formally opens for business under the new owners the same day.
Another nationalized bank, the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, which was sold in March to a group led by U.S. investment fund Ripplewood Holdings LLC, was renamed Shinsei Bank in June. Shinsei is the Japanese word for rebirth.