Vise tightens on Japan's regional banks as activists invest more

TOKYO -- Japan's regional lenders are facing pressure-cooker conditions, created by a combination of weak earnings and foreign shareholder activism.

The ratio of listed regional bank shares held by overseas investors stood at 13.5% in August, nearly double the 7% seen in fiscal 2010. At Concordia Financial Group, the parent of two regional lenders, foreign ownership has hit 33%.