TOKYO (Reuters) -Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) booked a 0.4% drop in first-quarter profit due to a change in a reporting period at an overseas subsidiary and affiliate, but profits across its customer segments grew.
Japan’s largest lender by assets reported group net profit of 556 billion yen ($3.7 billion) for April-June, compared with 558 billion yen in the same period a year earlier.
Adjusting for changes in the accounting period at MUFG affiliate Morgan Stanley, in which it holds a 23% stake, and Thai subsidiary Bank of Ayudhya, profits rose by 55 billion yen, or 11.7%, compared to the same period a year prior.
The falling value of the yen over the period was a fillip to MUFG’s exporting clients, whose increased demand for funding and consulting services boosted fees.
The weak yen boosted net profit by around 25 billion yen as compared to the same period a year ago.
But the impact of the end of negative interest rates from March was more muted. The bank calculated an increase in net operating profit of around 15 billion yen for the quarter due to the rise.
Its domestic loan and deposit rate margin, a measure of profitability at its core lending business, barely moved compared to the January-March quarter.
MUFG is the second of Japan’s three megabanks to report quarterly results, following Mizuho Financial Group on Wednesday, with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group to come on Friday.
($1 = 150.1500 yen)
(Reporting by Anton Bridge; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Sharon Singleton)
