Latest news with #MitsubishiUFJ
Japan Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Japanese banks set to ban storage of cash in safe-deposit boxes
Japan's main bank industry group is urging its members to prevent customers from keeping cash and other high-risk items in safe-deposit boxes, following a series of thefts by employees. The Japanese Bankers Association (JBA) has revised its sample agreement to explicitly prohibit the storage of cash in safe-deposit boxes, it said on Thursday. Banks use the document as a model for their contracts with clients who use the service. In recent months, incidents came to light in which workers at major lenders allegedly stole client valuables held in such boxes. That prompted regulators and banks to look more closely at the service, including the potential for it to be used for illicit activities. JBA Chairman Junichi Hanzawa said cash kept in the facilities is at high risk of money laundering and other criminal use. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group last year fired an employee who was accused of stealing millions of dollars from the safe-deposit boxes of dozens of customers. Despite the theft, Japan's biggest bank has said it plans to retain the service. Mizuho Financial Group reported a similar incident in February.
Reuters
15 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Japan firms face record activist shareholder proposals, raising reform pressure
TOKYO, June 20 (Reuters) - Activist investors submitted shareholder proposals to a record number of Japanese companies holding annual general meetings in June, adding to pressure on firms not used to friction to improve shareholder returns and profitability. Since former prime minister Shinzo Abe, who stepped down in 2020, called for improved governance to attract foreign capital, activists have ramped up efforts, arguing Japanese stocks are undervalued and that companies allocate capital inefficiently. Over 2,000 firms hold shareholder meetings in June, of which 52 have received activist proposals, surpassing last year's record of 46, showed data from Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking. That is more than four times the 12 companies that received proposals in 2018 and 2019 toward the end of Abe's tenure. Typically most proposals by activists and engagement funds are rejected. Still, some firms have subsequently introduced plans to increase returns even after unsuccessful votes. "There's no need to despair. Even if a proposal is rejected management may continue to consider it," said strategist Nozomi Moriya at UBS Securities. "I think it's important to look at corporate action over the long run." There is also an increasing number of cases in which firms adopt activist suggestions - in part or in full - in advance, to avoid a public proposal and any embarrassment to management that might bring. "It's not that we expect to win our AGM proposals, a lot of them now get withdrawn before the meetings take place" said Paul ffolkes Davis, chairman of Rising Sun Management, an activist investment advisor to the Nippon Active Value Fund. "The fact that we've never won one publicly doesn't mean to say we've never won one privately. Portfolio companies are engaging with us and acting on our suggestions more and more," Davis said. The Tokyo Stock Exchange in January last year began publishing a list of firms that have disclosed plans to improve capital allocation and corporate value, a move widely seen as naming and shaming those that fail to disclose such plans. Starting this year, the bourse under CEO Hiromi Yamaji plans to highlight companies who have sought dialogue with investors. "The greatest of all the Japanese activists is Mr. Yamaji," said Davis. Companies used to only seek help after activists publicised their proposals. Now they commonly reach out after the first or second private approach, said Hiroo Shimoda, senior manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Bank's corporate consulting division. "Before it was as though we were putting out fires after they had started. Now it's more like we're doing preventative fire-proofing work," Shimoda said. Since last year, the trust bank has expanded its advisory business for private activist engagement, including how to respond to approaches and whether disclosure is necessary. Investors more broadly point to greater openness by Japanese management to discussing strategy. "In the past we wouldn't really get access to management. Now, we're meeting entire boards in the majority of our portfolio names," said Joe Bauernfreund, chief executive of London-based Asset Value Investors. "There are still so many undervalued companies in Japan, which means we've got our work cut out for us over the next few years."
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Record demands from activist investors driving focus on governance, efficiency
Activist investors are inundating Japanese companies with an unprecedented number of proposals that will keep executives on their toes at annual general meetings (AGMs). Firms have received a record 137 requests from activists, according to data compiled by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking. The shareholders are delving deeper into management decisions and demanding changes to board structures and privatizations. The country's jammed AGM season matters more than ever this year as investors seek signs that Japanese stocks — which have underperformed most major markets this year — can get out of a rut. The proposals are putting added pressure on management to deliver tangible growth strategies, rather than simply turning to the quick fix of more buybacks or dividends. "With new activist holdings being revealed each day, companies are paying extra attention to governance and capital efficiency,' said Rieko Otsuka, a strategist at MCP Asset Management Japan. "There's a sense of impending crisis among management about when they might be targeted,' she said. The season peaks next week, with more than 40% of listed companies — that's over 1,700 firms — set to hold AGMs. They will be at venues including the luxury Palace Hotel near the emperor's residence and the Ariake Arena, which was built as a venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Some executives are readying for drawn-out meetings as overall proposals from activists and other shareholders have increased to almost 400, according to Mitsubishi UFJ Trust. That's well over double the number a decade ago. In contrast, in the United States, total proposals this year fell 14% through May 13 compared with the January-June period last year, as investor demand declined for environmental and social issue-related changes, according to a report from ISS-Corporate based on Russell 3000 index companies. Activist investors typically acquire a significant stake and then exert pressure on a firm to influence how it's run, suggesting that the increasing presence of these shareholders in Japan may be key to driving pro-growth strategies. The scrutiny in Japan is important right now because it may help carve out a path for corporate growth amid a worsening business climate as tariffs upend key sectors of the economy. Gains in Japanese stocks have been limited this year, raising the risk that the Topix Index's two-year rally is over. "We get to vote once a year, so it's important and I think — probably more than other cultures — voting against the president or the chairman sends a pretty clear message,' said Carl Vine, co-head of Asia-Pacific equities at M&G Investments, whose holdings include Toyota and Seven & I Holdings. Even so, proposals aimed at improving shareholder returns still make up a large chunk of activists' requests, and that may provide a short-term boost to the market as deep-pocketed companies pour more cash into buybacks. In addition, activist proposals rarely get passed because of opposition from domestic investors, who tend to be quite conservative. Still, the increase in proposals comes at an unfortunate time for executives who can no longer rely as much as on cross-shareholders. The waning influence of this cohort, also known as stable or policy shareholders, may increase the clout of institutional investors at proxy fights. This puts the focus more on companies with low approval ratings and "opens up the possibility that maybe a new shareholder would come in and try and put additional pressure on management,' said Bruce Kirk, chief Japan equity strategist at Goldman Sachs Japan. All this means that AGMs are now a far cry from how they were conducted before Japan's corporate reforms kicked in and the market caught the attention of overseas investors. "There was a time when decisions were made at AGMs in a planned, harmonious, and ritualistic manner, just for the sake of it,' said Hidenori Yoshikawa, chief consultant at Daiwa Institute of Research, a Tokyo-based think tank. "Now, until the meeting ends, we don't know how it will turn out.'
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Activist Investors Flood Japanese Firms With Record Proposals
Activist investors are inundating Japanese companies with an unprecedented number of proposals that will keep executives on their toes at annual general meetings. Firms have received a record 137 requests from activists, according to data compiled by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp. The shareholders are delving deeper into management decisions and demanding changes to board structures and privatizations.
Wall Street Journal
11-06-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
JGBs Mixed as Investors Digest U.S.-China Trade Agreement
0057 GMT — JGBs are mixed in price terms in early Tokyo trade as investors digest the U.S.-China trade agreement. Negotiators from both sides agreed on a framework to get their trade truce back on track and ease tensions between the world's two largest economies. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities wants to be vigilant over higher volatility triggered by any reports or speculation surrounding the Ministry of Finance's issuance plans and the Bank of Japan's meeting, its fixed income strategists say in commentary. The five-year JGB yield is down 0.5 bp at 1.025%, while the 20-year yield is up 1.5 bps at 2.405% and the 30-year yield is 1.5 bps higher at 2.930%. (
