Latest news with #SumitomoMitsuiTrustBank
3 days ago
- Business
2-Yr-Sentence Sought for Ex-Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Worker
News from Japan Society Jun 2, 2025 16:32 (JST) Tokyo, June 2 (Jiji Press)--Prosecutors sought a two-year prison term for a former Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank employee in an insider trading trial on Monday. In their closing argument at Tokyo District Court, prosecutors pointed out that when he was in the bank the defendant, Hajime Katayama, 55, took the advantage of his position as a securities transfer agency business director to repeat stock transactions based on information about clients and gained some 29.3 million yen in profit. Then they demanded that Katayama be imprisoned for two years, fined 2 million yen and ordered to forfeit additional 61.4 million yen, calling him a habitual, malicious offender with a strong criminal intent. "There is no room for clemency," they stressed. Meanwhile, the defense in its final plea called for a cut in the penalty money and a suspended sentence, insisting that Katayama's case be treated as a voluntary surrender because he reported the illegal transactions to the Tokyo Public Prosecutors Office before they came to light. The defendant, who has already admitted to violating the financial instruments and exchange law, said, "I'm sorry for causing a big trouble." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Japan Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Japanese life insurers cut bullish yen hedges to 14-year low
Japanese life insurers cut protection for their foreign assets against a stronger yen to a fresh 14-year low, signaling subdued expectations of a sustained rally in the nation's currency. Nine of Japan's biggest life insurers collectively lowered bullish yen wagers tied to their foreign investment holdings to 44.4% at the end of the fiscal half in March, compared with 45.2% six months earlier, according to an analysis of their earnings reports. While U.S. President Donald Trump's administration's unpredictable policymaking has stoked foreign exchange market volatility, that wasn't enough to stop a three-year decline in yen hedging. The Bank of Japan's policy interest rate is still 3 percentage points lower than the nation's inflation rate, with the next potential hike seen further delayed. The continued decline in hedging suggests "life insurers see a lower likelihood of the yen showing the kind of strength it did in the past, and feel a need to hold unhedged overseas bonds to maintain exposure to foreign exchange risks,' said Ayako Sera, a market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank in Tokyo. "The yen's real interest rates are just too low.' Still-high currency hedging costs are also weighing on life insurers' demand for overseas debt. Japan's 10-year notes yield more than 150 basis points on a compounded basis, much more than counterparts in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia once foreign exchange protection costs are taken into account, data shows. Life insurers offloaded a net ¥756 billion ($5.3 billion) worth of foreign bonds in the six months through March 31, Finance Ministry data showed. That marks the seventh consecutive such period of sales. Insurers dumped a net ¥21.2 billion of overseas stocks in the October-March period after buying ¥1.06 trillion in the six months through Sept. 30. A gauge that measures the yen's strength against currencies of Japan's major trading partners rose to a six-month high at the time amid broad weakness in the greenback. But the currency failed to hold gains and finished the second half of the fiscal year 1.6% lower as the BOJ added a reference to trade policies to its list of risks to the outlook for the economy and inflation. The likelihood of an interest-rate hike shrank further as the central bank this month delayed the expected timeline for reaching its inflation target. Overnight-indexed swaps signal a 64% chance of the central bank raising interest rates by 25 basis points by the end of the year. At the end of January, markets were fully expecting a quarter point hike or more by December. The yen's nominal effective exchange rate has edged up 0.8% since March 31. Asset managers and leveraged funds collectively boosted net yen longs to a record via futures and options earlier this month amid speculation the Trump administration's tariff policy will hit the global economy and fuel demand for haven assets. Unhedged positions risk causing losses should a drop in foreign currencies wipe out capital and income gains from overseas assets. That may prompt life insurers to rush for currency hedging, in turn exacerbating the slump in foreign currencies against the yen. Swaps, meanwhile, indicate an 83% chance of the U.S. Federal Reserve resuming rate cuts as early as September. Lower U.S. interest rates typically help reduce dollar hedge costs for Japanese investors, which are largely driven by the rate gap between the two economies. For this reason, "I see a rebound in demand for currency hedges going forward,' said Tsuyoshi Ueno, executive research fellow at NLI Research Institute in Tokyo.
01-05-2025
- Business
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Punishes 8 Executives over Insider Trading
News from Japan Economy May 1, 2025 22:53 (JST) Tokyo, May 1 (Jiji Press)--Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. said Thursday that it will punish eight executives over insider trading involving a former department chief at its Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank unit. The eight executives include Kazuya Oyama, president of the bank who will face a 30 pct pay cut for three months. Oyama, while apologizing for the scandal, said at a press conference, "I will lead efforts to regain trust." A committee set up by the parent company to investigate the scandal said that it has found no evidence of the bank's systematic involvement in the case and insider trading involving any other employees or executives. Appointing employees with weak morals to senior posts negatively impacts corporate culture, the committee said. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ishiba Denies Japan Weakening Yen After Trump Tariff Warning
(Bloomberg) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba denied that Tokyo is trying to weaken its currency after President Donald Trump bumped the yen by accusing Japan and China of gaining an unfair advantage through foreign exchange policy. He threatened to use tariffs as a remedy. Cuts to Section 8 Housing Assistance Loom Amid HUD Uncertainty How Upzoning in Cambridge Broke the YIMBY Mold Remembering the Landscape Architect Who Embraced the City NYC Office Buildings See Resurgence as Investors Pile Into Bonds Hong Kong Joins Global Stadium Race With New $4 Billion Sports Park 'Japan hasn't adopted a so-called yen-weakening policy,' Ishiba said in parliament, adding his voice to a chorus of senior Japanese officials playing down Trump's comments. He added that close communication over currency policy would continue between the finance ministers of both nations, just as it did during Trump's first administration. Following Trump's remarks, the yen broke through the 150 mark against the dollar, with gains briefly taking it to 148.60 mid-morning Tuesday in Tokyo. By 2pm Japan's currency had pared gains to around 149.20. While officials in Tokyo were quick to try and push back against the idea of any currency issue between Japan and the US, the president's comments will likely reinforce the view among traders that there's little to be gained from betting on a renewed weakening of the yen. 'The first remarks by President Trump since taking office to curb the weakening of the yen sent a shock through the foreign exchange market,' said Takeru Yamamoto, a trader at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank in New York. The comments make it difficult to build yen-selling positions going forward, he added. Trump said he warned Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese leaders that they cannot continue to 'reduce and break down' their currencies. Trump added that the easy solution was to apply tariffs. 'Whether it's the yuan or the yen in Japan or the yuan in China — when they drop them down, that gives us — that puts us at a very unfair disadvantage,' Trump said at the White House on Monday. 'It's very hard for us to make tractors — Caterpillar — here, when Japan, China, and other places are killing their currency.' Ishiba said he hadn't received a phone call on the matter from the US president. Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters earlier in the day that Tokyo's stance 'can be understood by looking at our recent currency interventions.' The finance ministry spent around $100 billion intervening in markets last year, not to weaken the yen but rather to prop it up, as consumers and businesses struggled to cope with higher prices partly driven by the weaker currency. One of the main sources of weakness in Japan's currency has been the Bank of Japan's ultra low interest rates in comparison to elevated borrowing costs in the US, a difference that has helped divert money out of the yen and into dollar-based assets. The BOJ raised interest rates for the first time in 17 years a year ago and has pushed them up twice more since then. But at 0.5%, Japan's main policy rate is still some distance from the Federal Reserve's upper bound of 4.5%. While BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda and other board members have reiterated the bank's commitment to keep raising rates if the price outlook materializes, surveyed economists see the central bank waiting until July before hiking again. Kato said he confirmed Japan's basic stance on its currency policy with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the Group of Seven nations and other forums. Kato met Bessent in January, where the pair said they would work closely on currency matters. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan's top government spokesman, largely echoed Kato's comments, adding that the two finance chiefs would continue to coordinate closely on currency issues. Weakness in the currency has ramped up import costs for Japanese businesses and fueled inflation for consumers. Overall inflation is running at 4%. The cost-of-living crunch has led to voter dissatisfaction, creating a headache for Ishiba as a national election approaches this summer. --With assistance from Masahiro Hidaka, Mia Glass, Takashi Hirokawa and Masaki Kondo. (Adds officials' comments, more background) Rich People Are Firing a Cash Cannon at the US Economy—But at What Cost? The US Is Withdrawing From Global Health at a Dangerous Time Trump's SALT Tax Promise Hinges on an Obscure Loophole Snack Makers Are Removing Fake Colors From Processed Foods OXO Fought Back Against the Black Spatula Panic. People Defected Anyway ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
