MUFG, Japan's largest bank, prepares most dramatic staff reduction

Tokyo

JAPAN'S biggest bank is set to undergo the most dramatic reduction in headcount since it was formed after the nation's banking crisis shook the industry almost 20 years ago.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc is considering eliminating about 10,000 positions - about 7 per cent of its workforce - over a decade, as low interest rates and intensifying competition squeeze profit, sources said. That's more than double the 3,500 full-time roles that president Nobuyuki Hirano said last year that MUFG would cut from its main banking unit through natural attrition and less hiring.