Japan's Aozora Bank hits near 3-year lows as bad U.S. property loans prompt loss forecast

Aozora shares suffered a significant decline, reaching their lowest point since February 2021 during Friday’s Tokyo trade. The Tokyo-based commercial lender, Aozora Bank, revised its annual outlook from a net profit of 24 billion yen to a net loss of 28 billion yen for the fiscal year ending March 31. This downgrade was due to bad U.S. commercial real estate loans. The bank’s shares fell for a second consecutive day, following losses in U.S. regional lenders. Aozora’s Common Equity Tier 1 ratio is expected to temporarily fall below its target of 7% by the end of the fiscal year.