INTERVIEW: Mizuho to Strengthen Financial Services for Individuals

August 24, 2018

Tokyo- Mizuho Financial Group Inc. will strengthen its financial services for individual customers, aiming to build a stable business foundation for further revenue growth, the Japanese megabank group's president, Tatsufumi Sakai, has said.

"We'll allocate (more of) our management resources to new services" for individual customers, Sakai said in a recent interview.

Mizuho plans to offer new settlement services for smartphone users. In addition, it will proceed with cutting fixed costs by realignment of branches.

"We'll work on revitalizing individual financial assets," Sakai also said, signaling the group's aim of increasing commission revenue from its asset management support programs.

Mizuho plans to reduce the number of its outlets and other bases in Japan, which currently stands at about 500, by 20 pct to some 400 bases in seven years through fiscal 2024.

Sakai said cutting the number of automated teller machines is not the first choice for Mizuho.

"We'll first aim for the spread of cashless transactions and streamline the ATMs that will become unnecessary," he said. Jiji Press