Mizuho Considers Buying Stakes in Asian Banks, Increases Hiring

Mizuho Financial Group Inc. may seek stakes in Asian investment banks and would consider spending about 100 billion yen ($1.2 billion) on an acquisition should it find a suitable target, a senior executive said.

“Non-organic growth is an important option for us and the emphasis is on Asia,” Nobuhide Hayashi, 53, head of international banking at Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd., said in an Aug. 19 interview in Tokyo.