TOKYO :Japan’s third-largest lender Mizuho Financial Group posted a record annual profit of 885 billion yen ($6.08 billion) as the end of deflation proved a boon for Japan’s largest banks, although its fourth-quarter net profit fell 18 per cent.
Mizuho booked a net profit of 30.1 billion yen ($206.7 million) in the January-March quarter compared to 36.6 billion yen in the same period a year earlier.
The results follow those of Japan’s second-largest banking group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, which announced a record 1.18 trillion yen annual net profit on Wednesday.
Demand for commercial loans has swelled as Japan’s economy emerges from decades of deflation, spurring mergers and acquisitions, growth investments overseas and capital expenditure.
Mizuho forecast annual net profit for the year to end-March 2026 at 940 billion yen – which would be another record – even though the economic outlook has been muddied by U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs.
Mizuho estimated a 110 billion yen hit to its bottom line in the current financial year as a result of the uncertainty in the external business environment.
($1 = 145.5600 yen)