TOKYO (Reuters) – Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Japan’s third-biggest bank by assets, outshone it larger rivals and posted its biggest profit in seven quarters on Monday, helped by an improvement in its stock portfolio and a decline in bad loans.

While Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group have made a slow recovery from the global financial crisis, Sumitomo appears to be improving at a quicker pace.

The bank’s October-December earnings outstripped the combined results of Mitsubishi UFJ and Mizuho in the same period, a rare result from the smallest of Japan’s three “megabanks.”

However, analysts cautioned that it was still too early to declare a full-fledged recovery, given that Sumitomo Mitsui’s lending business remains sluggish, due to chronic weakness in Japan’s economy.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese electronics maker Panasonic Corp’s <6752.T> third-quarter profit jumped more than threefold thanks to cost cuts and robust TV sales, and it raised its forecast for the year above market expectations.

The company said, however, that if safety issues rocking Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T>, its biggest corporate customer, were prolonged, that could affect its performance, casting a shadow over its longer-term prospects.

The maker of Lumix digital cameras and Viera TVs benefited from growing demand for LCD televisions as consumers continued to trade in bulky box TVs for flat-screen models, prompted in part by government incentive program.

Panasonic said it now planned to cut fixed costs by 370 billion yen ($4.1 billion) this financial year, up from the previous target of 260 billion yen, boosting profitability.

TOKYO, Jan 6 (Reuters) – Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group <8316.T> said it would raise up to $9.7 billion in a share sale to meet stricter global banking regulations and expand overseas.

Japan’s third-largest bank is tapping a modest stock rebound for much-needed fundraising after industry leader Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T> raised about 1 trillion yen ($10.82 billion) last month. [ID:nTOE5BD089]

The announcement was widely expected after Reuters reported on Tuesday the bank was planning to raise funds. [ID:nTOE60404B]

It said it would use some of the capital to strengthen its business in Asia and the wholesale operations of its brokerage arm, Nikko Cordial Securities.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group <8316.T> said it would raise up to $9.7 billion in a share sale to meet stricter global banking regulations and expand overseas.

Japan’s third-largest bank is tapping a modest stock rebound for much-needed fundraising after industry leader Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T> raised about 1 trillion yen ($10.82 billion) last month.

The announcement was widely expected after Reuters reported on Tuesday the bank was planning to raise funds.

It said it would use some of the capital to strengthen its business in Asia and the wholesale operations of its brokerage arm, Nikko Cordial Securities.

TOKYO, Jan 6 (Reuters) – Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group <8316.T> said it would raise up to $9.7 billion in a share sale to meet stricter global banking regulations and expand overseas.

Japan’s third-largest bank is tapping a modest stock rebound for much-needed fundraising after industry leader Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T> raised about 1 trillion yen ($10.82 billion) last month. [ID:nTOE5BD089]

The announcement was widely expected after Reuters reported on Tuesday the bank was planning to raise funds. [ID:nTOE60404B]

It said it would use some of the capital to strengthen its business in Asia and the wholesale operations of its brokerage arm, Nikko Cordial Securities.

The bulk of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group’s  up to $9.7 billion share issue will go to meet stricter capital requirements, but sources say the bank will use some money to hunt for more opportunities in Asia.

Asian expansion is increasingly important for Japanese lenders, saddled with low profit margins and few opportunities for growth at home. Sumitomo Mitsui already has stakes in Vietnam’s Eximbank, South Korea’s KB Financial and Hong Kong’s Bank of East Asia, and wants to benefit more from the region’s growing economies.

Less than 15 percent of Sumitomo Mitsui’s gross profit comes from overseas now, but it wants to raise that to as much as 30 percent in the next few years by focusing on Asia.

It’s a tall order. Unlike some major European commercial banks, such as HSBC and Standard Chartered, Japanese lenders don’t have a strong track record abroad, as the vast majority of their overseas operations are focused on servicing Japanese corporates.

TOKYO, Jan 4 (Reuters) – The Tokyo Stock Exchange [TSE.UL] launched its $140 million “Arrowhead” system on Monday, as Asia’s biggest bourse targets a dramatic increase in speed to revive its business and reputation.

Long derided as one of the world’s slowest major exchanges, Tokyo will now be on par with global rivals such as New York and London. The system is supposed to process trades 600 times faster than previously and be able to handle much larger volumes.

The much-needed speed improvement is aimed at drawing more business from hedge funds and other professional investors, who increasingly rely on sophisticated automated trading strategies.

In particular, analysts say the system should allow for more high-frequency trading, where algorithms are used to make thousands of trades in milliseconds, allowing firms to profit from tiny spreads and market imbalances.

TOKYO (Reuters) – The Tokyo Stock Exchange <TSE.UL> launched its $145 million “Arrowhead” system on Monday, as Asia’s biggest bourse targets a dramatic increase in speed to revive its business and reputation.

Long derided as one of the world’s slowest major exchanges, Tokyo will now be on par with global rivals such as New York and London. The system is supposed to process trades 600 times faster that previously and be able to handle much larger volumes.

The much-needed speed improvement is aimed at drawing more electronic trading and automated trading strategies. Analysts say the system should allow for more high-frequency trading, where algorithms are used to trade thousands of shares in milliseconds to profit from tiny spreads and market imbalances.

UBS estimates that just 30 percent of Japanese equity trading is high frequency, compared with about 60 percent of equity volume in the United States.

TOKYO, Jan 4 (Reuters) – The Tokyo Stock Exchange [TSE.UL] launched its $145 million “Arrowhead” system on Monday, as Asia’s biggest bourse targets a dramatic increase in speed to revive its business and reputation.

Long derided as one of the world’s slowest major exchanges, Tokyo will now be on par with global rivals such as New York and London. The system is supposed to process trades 600 times faster that previously and be able to handle much larger volumes.

The much-needed speed improvement is aimed at drawing more electronic trading and automated trading strategies. Analysts say the system should allow for more high-frequency trading, where algorithms are used to trade thousands of shares in milliseconds to profit from tiny spreads and market imbalances.

UBS estimates that just 30 percent of Japanese equity trading is high frequency, compared with about 60 percent of equity volume in the United States.