Resona in talks with Nomura on revival fund
By David Ibison in Tokyo
Published: December 15 2003 11:10 | Last Updated: December 15 2003 11:10
Resona, the Japanese bank rescued from collapse earlier this year with an emergency
Y1,960bn capital injection, is in talks with Nomura to set up a revival fund
that will help speed the removal of bad loans from its balance sheet.
It is understood the Development Bank of Japan, a government agency that provides
loans, financial institutions and international investment banks are also involved
in the discussions and could participate in the fund.
The move would be the latest example of Japan's largest lenders teaming up
with investment industry professionals to resolve their bad loans. Mizuho,
SMFG and UFJ, three of the country's top banks, have formed alliances with
overseas investment banks.
If the negotiations proceed as planned, the new fund will be financed by Nomura,
Japan's largest stockbroker, and the other participants. The fund will purchase
non-performing loans from Resona and then seek to profit from restructuring
the borrowers. The initial size of the fund will be Y30bn.
The fund is expected to be the first of many. Resona has split its assets in
two parts, transferring Y26,700bn to a so-called "new account" and Y3,600bn
to a "revival account" comprising problem loans, listed securities and losses
on property assets.
Eiji Hosoya, Resona's chairman, has indicated he is prepared to consider a
more significant tie-up with one or more international or domestic investment
banks.
The initial fund is small compared with a similar fund that has been set up
by SMFG, Japan's second largest bank, and Goldman Sachs that will eventually
transfer up to Y1,000bn in bad loans off SMFG's balance sheet.
The deal between SMFG and Goldman Sachs has been watched closely because it
enables banks to remove bad loans from the balance sheet while allowing them
to retain a degree of control over the corporate revival process.
Nomura declined to comment on the new fund on Monday. Resona remains in dire
financial straits after having come close to collapse earlier this year when
an audit uncovered the bank had breached minimum capital adequacy requirements.
On November 25, Resona reported a massive first-half loss of Y1,770bn compared
with a Y13.52 billion profit a year ago, as a result of huge losses on loans
and on previously undisclosed real estate subsidiaries.
In a move symbolic of its break with traditional Japanese banking practice,
Resona will reduce its staff by 4,000 to around 15,000 by March 2005 as part
of a wider Y90bn cost reduction package.
里索纳与野村证券商谈设立复苏基金
戴维•伊比森(David Ibison)
2003年12月16日 星期二 出版
日本里索纳银行(Resona)正与野村证券(Nomura)就设立一个复苏基金进行商谈，该基金将帮助里索纳银行加快消除其资产负债表上的坏账。里索纳银行今年年初曾濒临破产，后被日本政府紧急纾困1.96兆日元。
据悉，日本开发银行(Development Bank of Japan)、几家金融机构和国际投资银行也参与了商谈，并有可能参与该基金的设立。日本开发银行是一家提供贷款的政府机构。
日本各大银行都在与投资界的专业机构联手解决坏账问题，这次里索纳和野村的合作行动将是一个最新范例。瑞穗银行(Mizuho)、住友三井金融集团(SMFG)和日本联合金融控股集团（UFJ）这三家日本最大的银行都已与海外投资银行结成联盟。
如果谈判能够按计划进行，新的基金将由野村证券和其它参与方共同提供资金。该基金将从里索纳买进不良贷款，然后，通过重组借款人来寻求盈利。基金的最初规模将为300亿日元。野村证券是日本最大的证券经纪商。
预计该基金将成为诸多同类基金中的第一个。里索纳已将其资产拆分为两部分，一部分价值26.7兆日元的资产转移到所谓的“新账户”下，另有3.6兆资产转至“复苏账户”下。“复苏账户”包含问题贷款、上市的有价证券以及房地产资产的亏损等。
里索纳银行董事长英次细谷(Eiji Hosoya)指出，他已准备考虑与一家或多家国际、国内投资银行结成更紧密的合作关系。
日本第二大银行住友三井金融集团与高盛(Goldman Sachs)曾联合设立过类似的基金，该基金最终将从住友三井的资产负债表上转走高达1兆日元的坏账。与该基金比较，里索纳复苏基金的首期规模相对较小。
住友三井金融集团和高盛间的合作已受到业界密切关注，因为这种方式能帮助银行把坏账从资产负债表上转移走，同时还允许银行对企业复苏过程保留一定的控制权。
周一，野村证券拒绝就新基金发表评论。今年早些时候，审计结果显示，里索纳的资本充足率已跌破最低要求限度，处于破产边缘。现在，里索纳仍处于严重的财务困境中。
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