Kanto Bank, a regional bank in Ibaraki Prefecture, and Tsukuba Bank, a second-tier regional bank there, said Tuesday they have agreed to merge as part of efforts to ease clients' concerns over their financial health.
The banks said the merger, possibly in April 2003, is intended to help them cope with the abolition this April 1 of the full government guarantee on time deposits in case of bank failures.
The new entity, tentatively to be called Kanto Tsukuba Bank, will have combined assets of more than 1 trillion yen, with Kanto Bank being the surviving entity, the banks said.