TOKYO :Japan's second-largest bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc, reported on Monday a jump of 42.6 per cent in third-quarter net profit, as a continuing recovery in economic activities from the coronavirus pandemic boosted the core lending business.
A weak yen, driven by a widening gap between U.S. and Japanese interest rates, also inflated profits earned abroad. But SMFG refrained from lifting its annual outlook, citing recession fears in the United States and Europe, as well as uncertainties over the war in Ukraine. Shares of SMFG have jumped about 20 per cent since the Bank of Japan's surprise tweak to its bond yield control in late December, a decision that sparked expectations that the central bank could change its interest rate policy soon.