Japan's MUFG bank business to make managing director Hanzawa CEO

[TOKYO] Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group's banking unit will promote a managing director, Junichi Hanzawa, to the position of CEO in an effort to shake up its corporate culture, the Nikkei business newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Mr Hanzawa was a contemporary of Japanese novelist Jun Ikeido during his time at a forerunner of the bank, with Ikeido going on to write a series of bestselling novels about a banker, Naoki Hanzawa, who takes revenge on his domineering bosses.

The real-life Mr Hanzawa, 55, will become the first managing director to take on the CEO position at Japan's largest lender and will replace Kanetsugu Mike, 64, who will become group chairman, Nikkei reported, without citing sources.

MUFG said it has not announced anything in response to the Nikkei report, which said the change will happen in April.

Change at the top of MUFJ's banking unit would be the latest management reshuffle following the April appointment of a new group CEO, whose predecessor was only in the post for a year.

REUTERS