Japan's MUFG hit with first loss in 10 years

It recorded a $236m loss in Q3 due to its core unit’s one-off charge.

Japanese holding and financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) posted a net loss of $236m (JPY25.7b) for Q3 2019, the first time in a decade, reports Reuters.

Amidst a leadership change, MUFG said in December that core unit MUFG Bank would book a one-off charge of around $1.89b (JPY207.4b) for Q3 the same year due to a plunge in Indonesian lender Bank Danamon’s share price.

This resulted in MUFG slashing its full-year outlook to a $6.85b (JPY750b) net profit from $8.2b (JPY900b). However, its trading division saw a $2.5b (JPY276.7b) net profit for the first nine months of 2019, up 35.2% YoY.

It has been an uphill battle for Japanese banks to raise profits since the central banks issued short-term rates towards -0.1% and the 10-year government bond yield to around 0%.

Here's more from Reuters. 

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