Hiroshi Iwama and Mitsunori Watanabe used to joke about merging their banks in central Japan. The two golfing buddies run Mie Bank Ltd. and Daisan Bank Ltd., two of Japan’s roughly 100 regional lenders. Consultancy Bain & Co. estimates that about half of Japan’s lenders will disappear by around 2025 as they face a stark choice: merge or close. “The profitability situation for regional banks is very severe,” said Yoshizawa, who has worked in Japan’s banking industry for 30 years. While large lenders have made certain progress after merging years ago and re-deploying staff, “it’s clear that regional banks need to do more,” he said.

Source: The Standard July 12, 2017 11:48 UTC