Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group announced on Friday that the merger of its commercial arm – Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi – with the commercial banking arm of UFJ would be delayed three months, from 1 October 2005 to 1 January 2006.
The schedule for the mergers of the holding companies, trust banks, and securities brokers of both groups remain unchanged. They will be completed as planned on 1 October 2005.
The delay is attributed by Mitsubishi Tokyo to the “tremendous social impact” of the merger, especially in the retail sector in Japan, and the risks occasioned by the merger of their respective technology platforms.
“We have concluded that we should engage in additional tests, rehearsals and training sessions for the integration of the systems of the two banks, in order to achieve the highest possible level of safety and stability in the new post-integration systems of the newly merged bank,” explains an official statement.