Mizuho Financial Group Inc. said Wednesday it will form five financial affiliates specializing in reviving feeble corporate borrowers.
The banking group said its three banks will set up four wholly owned subsidiaries to handle corporate revival, while a joint advisory venture will be formed with the Development Bank of Japan and five foreign institutions.
Mizuho Corporate Bank will become the parent of two of the new subsidiaries: Mizuho Corporate Ltd. and Mizuho Global Ltd. Mizuho Bank will own Mizuho Project Ltd., and Mizuho Trust & Banking Co. will own Mizuho Asset Ltd.
The four new units will take charge of the revival and restructuring of businesses by handling loans that will be segregated from the current Mizuho group banks for "a further reinforcement of credit creation function," Mizuho Financial Group said.
All four firms will be set up May 23 to begin business operations in late July.
The joint company, Mizuho Advisory Inc., will be established early next month, with Mizuho Financial Group holding a 60 percent stake.
Of the remaining interests, 10 percent will be owned by the DBJ and 6 percent each by Cerberus Group, Deutsche Securities Ltd., Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co., Morgan Stanley Japan Ltd. and UBS Consortium.
"Recognizing that this is a comprehensive measure taken to achieve corporate revitalization, we intend to expedite all our efforts to complete revitalization of customers in three years," Mizuho Financial Group said in a press release.
"It is our belief that this project will contribute to the revival of Japanese industrial and financial sectors, which in turn will contribute to the revival of the Japanese economy as a whole," it said.