Mizuho may face $90 million loss from Archegos, Nikkei says

FILE PHOTO: Mizuho Financial Group logo is seen at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan August 20, 2018. Picture taken August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

By Takashi Umekawa

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese financial firm Mizuho Financial Group Inc may face a loss of 10 billion yen ($90 million) from deals with Archegos Capital Management, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Thursday.

The Financial Times earlier reported that Mizuho had conducted an investigation into its possible losses related to the U.S.-based fund, and its potential losses could be similar to those of the brokerage arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.

MUFG on Wednesday estimated its loss at around $270 million.

“We refrain from making comments on individual deals, but we don’t currently see any issue that may affect our profit forecast,” said a spokeswoman for Mizuho, adding the bank does not conduct prime brokerage services globally.

Mizuho’s U.S. subsidiary has lent to Archegos, the Nikkei reported.

Losses at Archegos, a family office run by former Tiger Asia manager Bill Hwang, sparked a sell-off in stocks including media giant ViacomCBS and Discovery on Friday, a source familiar with the matter said this week.

The sale triggered bank margin calls for Archegos, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Nomura Holdings Inc, Japan’s largest investment bank, warned of a possible $2 billion loss, while Credit Suisse said a default on margin calls by a U.S.-based fund could be “highly significant and material” to its first-quarter results.

The two banks and MUFG did not identify the client.

($1 = 110.6900 yen)

(Reporting by Takashi Umekawa. Editing by Mark Potter and Jason Neely)