Taiga Uranaka

Two regional banks in central Japan are planning to integrate their operations, as a long-anticipated industry consolidation picks up pace.

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. forecast a third straight year of record profit, although it sees the pace of earnings growth slowing as the Middle East conflict casts a shadow over the outlook for Japanese banks.

Rakuten Bank Ltd. shares surged after Mizuho Financial Group Inc. said it is considering investing in the firm as one of the options for Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Group Inc.’s planned reorganization of its financial businesses.

Japan’s banks are grappling with a problem that was unthinkable a few years ago. Loans are growing faster than deposits.

Japan's banks are grappling with a problem that was unthinkable a few years ago: Loans are growing faster than deposits.

Japan’s financial regulator is urging the country’s listed companies to spend more of their cash piles on long-term business investment instead of rewarding shareholders with buybacks and higher dividends.

Japan's financial regulator is urging the country's listed companies to spend more of their cash piles on long-term business investment instead of rewarding shareholders with buybacks and higher dividends.

Nippon Life Insurance Co. booked an impairment loss on its Japanese government bonds, signaling that some of the paper losses on the debt holdings have climbed to levels that require writedowns.

Mizuho Financial Group Inc.’s chief executive officer suggested that an outsized interest rate increase by the Bank of Japan would be better for the nation’s bond market.

The Japanese regional bank with the best recent record for trading bonds has started buying Japanese government debt for the first time in a decade.