OSAKA -- The president-designate and chairman-designate of the envisioned UFJ Bank pledged Monday to maintain credit lines for financially beleaguered supermarket chain operator Daiei Inc.
President-designate Kaneo Muromachi, currently president of Sanwa Bank, told a news conference, "Our willingness to continue to provide support to Daiei has not budged an inch since we highly appreciate Daiei's business reconstruction program."
The news conference was attended by Hideo Ogasawara, UFJ Bank chairman-designate who is now serving as the president of Tokai Bank.
Sanwa, Tokai and Toyo Trust & Banking Co. presently make up the UFJ Financial Group, whose core is UFJ Holdings Inc.
Ogasawara told the same news conference that the UFJ Financial Group has not yet made up its mind on whether to grant a request from Chukyo Bank, a regional bank based in Nagoya, to join the group.
"We are at the stage of considering carefully whether we can tie up with Chukyo Bank, while weighing whether the tieup would produce synergy effects or not," he said.
On Thursday, Chukyo Bank expressed a desire to join the UFJ Financial Group. following its request that Tokai Bank help actualize its capital reinforcement plan.
The regional bank said it plans to increase its shareholders' equity by 20 billion yen by the end of March and return its capital-adequacy ratio to 8 percent through an allotment of newly floated shares to Tokai Bank.