Japan’s MUFG Bank is scanning for further acquisitions and investments in Asia and other regions as it wraps up its latest Indian deal, according to Masakazu Osawa, the newly appointed head of the lender’s core banking unit.

Osawa told Bloomberg that non-bank financial companies could be potential targets.

He said the bank is not ruling out additional moves even as it completes the purchase of a 20% stake in Indian consumer lender Shriram Finance.

Osawa took charge of the banking unit this month, replacing Junichi Hanzawa, who was promoted to chief executive of parent Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

Over the past decade, MUFG has carried out more than $17bn in overseas acquisitions and investments as it sought growth in faster-expanding markets abroad, Bloomberg-compiled data show.

The push comes as Japanese banks benefit from rising domestic interest rates, which have lifted lending income. MUFG expects net income of Y2.1 trillion ($13.18bn) for the year ended in March, nearly double what it earned three years ago.

Osawa said the impact of conflict in the Middle East is likely to be felt more in Asia than in the US and Europe, though he was not overly negative on Japan’s outlook.

“Loan demand has been very strong for the past year. Companies have been increasing capital expenditure and acquisitions,” he said.

“How things unfold from here will depend somewhat on the immediate situation, but fundamentally, I believe there is underlying strength,” he said, adding that activist pressure is likely to keep corporate clients focused on improving value.

Osawa also flagged risks including fallout from the Iran conflict and signs of strain in private markets. He said MUFG’s lending to non-bank financial institutions, including private credit funds, is limited.

“We are not expecting any meaningful losses from our exposure,” he said.

Separately, policymakers and industry officials are responding to evolving cybersecurity threats, including those potentially associated with Anthropic PBC’s artificial intelligence model known as Mythos. Osawa said he needs more information about Mythos, but expressed confidence in MUFG’s defences.

“Cybersecurity has been one of the biggest risks and we’ve been allocating significant resources to it in recent years,” he said.

He added that stronger security capabilities could help the bank attract and retain customers as domestic competition for retail savings increases.

MUFG is also planning to launch a digital bank later this fiscal year, with lower transaction fees and smoother links for stock trading and other financial services.

“In the end, it’s about whether customers choose MUFG to trust a large chunk of their money,” Osawa said.

"MUFG lending head signals further Asia dealmaking" was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand.

 

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