What on earth, you might ask, does MTFG see in such a partner?

ECONOMIST: Swallow hard

Although it is solid enough, by Japanese standards, in corporate lending, like all Japanese banks MTFG faces a hard time making decent returns.

ECONOMIST: Swallow hard

This suggests that MTFG is interested in UFJ for business reasons.

ECONOMIST: Swallow hard

Although MTFG, the main lender for other firms in the Mitsubishi family of companies, has better clients on the whole, there are exceptions to this general rule.

ECONOMIST: Swallow hard