TOKYO: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group on Monday named its deputy president, Nobuyuki Hirano, as head of its core banking unit, a move that is likely to accelerate its push overseas and one that presages Hirano's expected ascent to lead the entire company.
Hirano has been a key player in many strategic moves for Japan's biggest bank, including its alliance with Morgan Stanley.
Hirano will become president of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) on April 1, taking over from Katsunori Nagayasu, who will continue as president of the overall company.
Nagayasu became president of BTMU four years ago and assumed the top post of MUFG two years later, a pattern likely to be followed for Hirano.
Under Nagayasu, MUFG bought out UnionBanCal Corp, a holding company of California-based UnionBank, in 2008 and spent $9 billion to buy a 21 percent stake in Morgan Stanley at the height of the financial crisis.
Hirano is seen as even more internationally minded than his predecessor and speaks fluent English.
Hirano is taking over BTMU as Japan's major banks continue to see weak lending demand at home with corporate clients skittish about spending amid a fragile domestic economy.
Not heavily exposed to European sovereign debt, Japanese banks have so far escaped the brunt of the region's turmoil.
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