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Mizuho’s New CEO Faces Legacy Issues From Decades-Old Merger

  • 56-year-old Kihara is expected to be named as CEO Monday
  • Divisions are still plaguing the bank two decades after merger
The Mizuho Financial Group headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.

The Mizuho Financial Group headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.

Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
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Mizuho Financial Group Inc. is tapping a relatively young career insider to turn around the bank that’s been plagued by a series of technical disruptions and is still grappling with the legacy of a three-way merger more than two decades on.

Japan’s third-largest lender named Mizuho veteran Masahiro Kihara as chief executive officer -- its third since 2011 -- on Monday. He’ll replace Tatsufumi Sakai on Feb. 1, a series of technical troubles that led to business improvement orders from the Financial Services Agency.