TOKYO -- Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings have entered talks to combine their custody services operations, crossing group lines as extremely low interest rates force the industry to compensate for low profits with high volume.
The two aim to integrate Trust & Custody Services Bank, in which Mizuho holds a 54% stake, and Japan Trustee Services Bank, in which Sumitomo Mitsui Trust has a roughly 67% interest. The main proposal entails bringing the custodians together under a single holding company this year. The groups aim to merge the banks by 2020 as well as consolidate their systems, a process that will require a hefty financial outlay.
