Norinchukin Bank Logs 893.9-B.-Yen Net Loss in April-Sept.

Tokyo, Nov. 19 (Jiji Press)--Norinchukin Bank said Tuesday that its consolidated net loss totaled 893.9 billion yen in April-September, its largest fiscal first-half loss ever, reflecting sales of U.S. and European government bonds with latent losses due to higher interest rates.

Norinchukin Bank, the central organization for financial institutions for agricultural, forestry and fisheries cooperatives, fell into the red from the year-before profit of 144.3 billion yen. It incurred a net loss of 412.7 billion yen in April-June.

Norinchukin Bank's unrealized losses on bonds, including foreign bonds, ballooned to 2,192.3 billion yen as of the end of March due to rising interest rates. Dollar funding costs also rose, narrowing Norinchukin Bank's investment margins and putting pressure on its earnings.

"There is no doubt that the full-year net loss will be more than 1.5 trillion yen," Norinchukin Bank President Kazuto Oku told a news conference.

In the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2025, Norinchukin Bank plans to sell more than 10 trillion yen in low-yield U.S. bonds and others to replace them with profitable assets. Assets worth a total of about 7.5 trillion yen were already sold in the first half.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]