Shinsei Bank Ltd., the lender backed by billionaire Christopher Flowers, expects to return to profit this year after posting a record loss on overseas investments and loans to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
The bank forecast a ¥10 billion profit for the year ending March 31, compared with a loss of ¥143.1 billion in the year just ended, Tokyo-based Shinsei said in a statement Wednesday.
Chief Executive Officer Masamoto Yashiro, who came out of retirement last year to replace Thierry Porte, is in talks to merge with unprofitable Aozora Bank Ltd., sources said last month. Yashiro declined comment Wednesday. Both lenders were rescued by the government during a banking crisis in the 1990s and have yet to repay all the state funds.