(Bloomberg) -- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's biggest bank, has picked Junichi Hanzawa as chief of its main lending unit, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Hanzawa will replace Kanetsugu Mike as president of MUFG Bank Ltd. in April, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Mike will become chairman of the holding company, they added.
Currently a managing executive officer in charge of compliance, Hanzawa, 55, will inherit the task of bringing MUFG into the digital age alongside group Chief Executive Officer Hironori Kamezawa, 59. Other challenges include curtailing bad-loan costs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and preserving profit in an era of rock-bottom interest rates worldwide.
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Hanzawa is the first person of his rank to be promoted to the top job at MUFG Bank, the Nikkei newspaper reported earlier, saying he's getting the promotion ahead of 13 more senior executives.
MUFG isn't the source of the information, a representative said, declining to comment further.
Mike, 64, became MUFG Bank chief in 2017, and had a one-year stint as CEO of the financial group before stepping down in March. He is currently chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association.
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