Mizuho hit by US$2 billion write-off

Japan's Mizuho Financial Group admitted a securities valuation loss of some US$2 billion for the third quarter.

Japan's second largest banking group said the loss of US$2 billion came from a write-off of losses caused by the steep decline in the market value of shares. It reported an annual net profit of US$6.2 billion for the previous fiscal year, helped by an improvement in credit-related costs. Despite the massive write down, Mizuho still expects net profit to rise to US$6.4 billion this fiscal year.

The bank will release its financial report for the second quarter and the first half of the fiscal year ending in March 2013 next month.