Standard & Poor's Corp. said Wednesday the downward revision of earnings by the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and Mitsubishi Trust & Banking Corp. -- parts of the Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group -- won't affect its ratings on the banks.
The U.S. credit-rating agency said the most crucial revision concerned estimated credit costs for fiscal 2001, but that the revised figures are within S&P's expectations.
On Monday, Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc., which includes BTM and Mitsubishi Trust, said it expects to post a group net loss of 145 billion yen in fiscal 2001 through March 31 in a reversal from its earlier forecast of a net profit of 20 billion yen.
The downward revision is due to bigger-than-expected loan-loss charges incurred from the collapse of borrowers in Japan and the United States, and also to losses stemming from stock sales, an MTFG spokesman said.
In November, the group projected it would incur loan-loss charges of 480 billion yen. But it now says it has run up 685 billion yen in such charges.
S&P said that although MTFG is expected to post a net loss for fiscal 2001, the group's capitalization remains relatively strong compared with other major Japanese banks.