Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group News

Direct exchanges of the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan will begin on the Tokyo and Shanghai currency markets on Friday, marking a transition from the U.S. dollar to other world currencies on Chinese markets.

Japan's mega banks hugely increased their overseas lending activity over the past year, as western banks trimmed their presence, in a credit-positive development for the Japanese banks, Moody's Investors Service said Monday.

According to the sources, Tepco intends to issue JPY370bn of bonds in a private placement, with JPY170bn to be used for refinancing of debt which does not benefit from a guarantee.

The combined consolidated net profit of five major Japanese banking groups rose 36.3 percent in fiscal 2011 from the previous year to 2.403 trillion, primarily boosted by temporary benefits from government bond trading, according to their earnings reports released through Tuesday.

Shares in Japan's biggest banks have risen after they forecast profits for this financial year that exceeded analyst expectations.

Japan's top banks are set for profit declines this year after solid growth in the past two years as razor-thin yields curb their hefty government-bond trading gains and as a tepid domestic economy curtails loan appetite.

Tokyo stocks gained further ground earlier Monday morning but it lost steam as investors began selling shares to lock in profits, with the Nikkei Stock Average falling 0.65 points, or 0.01%, to end the morning session at 8,952.66. The People's Bank of China said Saturday it would cut its reserve requirement ratio, pushing Tokyo stocks up a bit in ... (more)

The nation's commercial banks have steadily increased their presence in overseas markets, with the outstanding balance of their loans in the Asian region hitting an all-time high at 211.9 billion dollars as of the end of 2011, up 24 percent from the year before, according to the Bank for International Settlements.