TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese banks must be on the lookout for cases similar to the collapse of Archegos Capital Management, the head of the country’s banking lobby group said on Thursday.
The New York investment fund run by former Tiger Asia manager Bill Hwang collapsed last month when its debt-laden bets on media companies including ViacomCBS unravelled, leaving global banks with losses.
“We need to pay close attention to whether a second or third Archegos might emerge,” Kanetsugu Mike, chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association (JBA), said at a regular press conference.
Among Japanese investment banks, Nomura Holdings Inc flagged a possible $2 billion loss and the securities unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) said its loss was estimated at about $270 million.
Although JBA’s Mike does not expect the Archegos collapse to lead to a financial crisis, saying the impact on the financial market and real economy appears limited, he said it remains necessary to keep a close watch on the market.
(Reporting by Takashi Umekawa; Editing by Ritsuko Ando and David Goodman)
