Tokyo, Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)–The combined consolidated or unconsolidated net balance at Japan’s 73 listed regional banks and banking groups came to 1,124 billion yen in profit in the April-September first half of fiscal 2026, up 34.2 pct from a year before, according to their earnings reports released by Friday. The regional banking industry enjoyed growth in profits from lending business thanks to rising interest rates. Of the total, 68, or more than 90 pct, secured net profit increases. Many raised their profit estimates for the full year to March 2027. Institutions such as Chiba Bank, whose primary service area is Chiba Prefecture, next to Tokyo, and Mebuki Financial Group Inc., the parent of Joyo Bank and Ashikaga Bank, reported record-high group net profits for the first-half period. Joyo Bank operates mainly in Ibaraki Prefecture, eastern Japan, and Ashikaga Bank in neighboring Tochigi Prefecture. Chiba Bank reported a net profit of 57 billion yen, up 28.9 pct year on year, and Mebuki Financial logged 59.2 billion yen in net profit, up 35.3 pct. Yokohama Financial Group Inc.’s April-September group net profit rose 36.2 pct to 74.9 billion yen, up for the fourth consecutive year. Its president, Tatsuya Kataoka, said, “We were able to benefit from higher interest rates as we deepened relations with both individual and corporate clients.” The company has three banks under its wing–Higashi-Nippon Bank in Tokyo, and Bank of Yokohama and Kanagawa Bank in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of the Japanese capital. Meanwhile, four institutions suffered profit decreases. The remaining entity, Bank of Kochi, a second-tier regional bank operating in the western prefecture of Kochi, incurred a group net loss of 222 million yen, against the year-before net profit of 218 million yen, due to an increase in credit costs following the collapse of Zentoshin, a credit card payment processing service firm based in the western city of Osaka. Competition for deposits, a key financial resource for lending, has been intensifying amid robust demand for funds. Hidefumi Kobayashi, president of 77 Bank, which operates in the northeastern prefecture of Miyagi, expressed caution, saying that “there is a growing trend for deposits to flow to Tokyo” partly because of competition with internet-only banks, which offer higher deposit interest rates. How to deal with cyberattacks is also a key challenge, with Minoru Sato, president of Toho Bank in Fukushima Prefecture, a Miyagi neighbor, saying, “We need to spend more management resources than before (on cybersecurity measures).” Kyoji Tanaka, president of Minami Nippon Bank in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, said, “It is difficult (to take cyber defense measures) on our own, so we want to cooperate (with other regional banks) where possible.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
