Mizuho is said to face US$90m in possible Archegos losses

[TOKYO] Mizuho Financial Group faces about US$90 million in potential losses tied to Bill Hwang's Archegos Capital Management, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

The Japanese lender's US unit has transactions with Archegos, the Nikkei newspaper reported earlier, without saying where it got the information.

Mizuho emerges as the third Japanese bank to face losses stemming from the collapse of Hwang's family office under the weight of billions of dollars in leveraged stock bets. Nomura Holdings has signalled it stands to lose as much as US$2 billion, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group's securities unit is booking a US$270 million loss.

Earlier, the Financial Times reported that Mizuho is investigating whether it suffered significant losses from the fall of Archegos.

Nothing has occurred that would impact Mizuho's profit forecast and the bank will make a timely disclosure should it happen, spokeswoman Masako Shiono told Bloomberg when asked about the FT report. Mizuho doesn't comment on individual clients, she said.

Global banks are starting to calculate the toll of the collapse of the New York-based family office. Firms roiled by the fallout may see total losses in the range of US$5 billion to US$10 billion, JPMorgan said in a report.

Credit Suisse has emerged as one of the most exposed, with potential losses from the unwinding of positions running into the billions of dollars, people with knowledge of the matter have said. Others like Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank cut their exposure with no or only immaterial damage.

BLOOMBERG