Japan's two megabanks report net losses for past fiscal year

Tokyo - Two Japanese megabanks on Friday reported multibillion-dollar net losses for the past fiscal year, which ended March 31, both being hit by the global financial crisis. Mizuho Financial Group Inc saw its first annual net loss in six years of 588.81 billion yen (6.16 billion dollars), mainly due to the mounting costs of bad-loan disposals and equity investment losses, the firm said. The year before Mizhuo had posted a net profit of 311.2 billiion yen. Operating revenues fell 22.3 per cent to 3.51 trillion yen, Mizuho said. But the nation's second-largest financial group, which invested about 130 billion yen in US investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co, expected to recover the loss during the current fiscal year. Mizuho projected a net profit of 200 billion yen and operating revenues of 3.2 trillion yen for fiscal 2009 that began in April. Japan's third-largest banking group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc, also reported a net loss on Friday, amounting to 373.46 billion yen, a turnaround from a profit of 461.54 billion yen the year before. It was the first time the firm fell into the red in four years, it said. Operating revenues dropped 23.2 per cent to 3.55 trillion yen during the year. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial expected to see a net profit for the current fiscal year of 220 billion yen but operating revenues to fall 4.3 per cent to 3.4 trillion yen, the firm said. Japan's largest banking group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc, was also expected to incur a net loss after its losses expanded from declines in stock prices and increases in the costs of bad-loan write-offs. The firm plans to release its earnings report on Tuesday. Such losses would mark the first time in six years that all of Japan's three megabanks have fallen into the red.