Asahi Bank said Thursday it will post a group net loss of 60 billion yen for the six months to Sept. 30, after shouldering heavy losses from soured loans and stock market plunges.
The revision is down from the 15 billion yen profit projected in May, and is the last of a string of cuts to forecast earnings among the nation's eight top banks. All eight have slashed their first-half figures for the 2001 business year, with only two -- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co. -- making profit forecasts so far.
Like the others, Asahi blamed tumbling stock markets for its woes.