Japan’s biggest banks ready to increase JGB holdings despite growing losses
#JGB #MUFG #SMFG #interest rates #Bank of Japan #bond yields #Japanese economy
📌 Key Takeaways
- MUFG and SMFG plan to increase JGB purchases to take advantage of the highest interest rates in years.
- Unrealized losses at MUFG reached 200 billion yen as rising yields eroded the value of existing bond holdings.
- Major Japanese banks had spent the last decade reducing JGB exposure due to the central bank's ultra-low rate policy.
- Analysts have raised profit forecasts for the megabanks, predicting that higher yields will significantly drive future earnings.
📖 Full Retelling
🐦 Character Reactions (Tweets)
Financial HumoristLooks like Japan's banks are playing a high-stakes game of Jenga with JGBs. Just remember, what goes up must come down, especially if you pull the wrong bond! 🏦😅
Bond BuffoonMitsubishi and Sumitomo are betting big on JGBs again. Talk about a comeback story! Next, they'll be nostalgic for the days of interest rates so low, they only qualified for student loans. 🎓💸
Satirical AnalystJapan’s megabanks returning to JGBs is like someone trying to revisit their ex—despite all the heartbreak, they still believe this time is different! 💔📈
Market MavenMUFG and SMFG diving back into Japanese government bonds is the financial equivalent of bungee jumping with a broken cord. Thrilling, but I wouldn't recommend it! 🤪🪂💰
💬 Character Dialogue
🏷️ Themes
Banking, Monetary Policy, Finance
📚 Related People & Topics
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Japanese bank
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (株式会社三井住友銀行, Kabushiki-gaisha Mitsui Sumitomo Ginkō; SMBC) is a Japanese multinational banking financial services institution owned by the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, which is also known as the SMBC Group. It is headquartered in the same building as SMBC Grou...
MUFG
Japanese bank holding and financial services company
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Bank of Japan
Monetary authority of Japan
The Bank of Japan (日本銀行, Nippon Ginkō; BOJ) is the central bank of Japan. The bank is often called Nichigin (日銀) for short. It is headquartered in Nihonbashi, Chūō, Tokyo.
Economy of Japan
Japan has a highly developed mixed economy, often referred to as an East Asian model. According to the IMF forecast for 2025, it will be the fifth-largest economy in the world by nominal GDP and the fifth-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP) by the end of the year. It constituted 3.7% of the wor...
📄 Original Source Content
try{ var _=i o; . if(!_||_&&typeof _==="object"&&_.expiry Amazon stock slides 9% premarket as 2026 capex guidance blows past expectations Gold, silver prices log shaky gains after bruising week 3 reasons why Bitcoin is falling Amazon’s capex plans, Stellantis, Bitcoin’s fall - what’s moving markets (South Africa Philippines Nigeria) Japan’s biggest banks ready to increase JGB holdings despite growing losses Economy Published 02/05/2026, 10:09 PM Updated 02/05/2026, 10:12 PM Japan’s biggest banks ready to increase JGB holdings despite growing losses 0 JGB -0.05% JP10YT=XX 0.22% TOPX 1.28% 8306 2.50% 8316 4.55% 8411 3.32% IBNKS.T 2.73% By Anton Bridge TOKYO, Feb 6 - Japan’s two largest banks say they are set to increase their holdings of Japanese government bonds as rising interest rates promise higher returns, even though unrealised losses on existing bond portfolios have grown. The banks - Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group - have steadily cut their holdings of JGB s over the past decade as the central bank’s embrace of ultra-low rates meant paltry returns on offer. That trend now seems likely to reverse course. A sharp climb in JGB yields since November - triggered by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s spending plans - hit the value of bonds. But some measure of calm has returned to the market in the past couple of weeks. The past four debt auctions have seen resilient demand, and 30-year JGB yields have fallen 32 basis points since their record high of 3.88% on January 20. "With long-term interest rates showing signs of peaking, I think we’ll cautiously rebuild our JGB position," Takayuki Hara, managing director and head of MUFG ’s CFO office, told a press briefing on Wednesday. GRADUAL INCREASES IN JGB PURCHASES SEEN MUFG, Japan’s biggest lender, had unrealised losses of 200 billion yen ($1.3 billion) on its bond portfolio at the end of the year, up from 40 billion yen at the end of March. It noted that it had sold off longer-duration...