Japan's MUFG targets US for securitisation business, plans to boost headcount

By Miho Uranaka

TOKYO, July 11 (Reuters) - Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 8306.T plans to expand its securitisation business globally, with a focus on North America, and will increase headcount in this area by around 25%, a senior executive at Japan's largest banking group said in an interview.

MUFG already has a presence in securitised products backed by assets such as credit card receivables and auto loans. However, such products tend to have high liquidity and many competitors, hitting profit margins.

The bank plans to target non-traditional asset classes, such as aircraft and data centres, with the aim of differentiating its business and improving profitability.

"We are launching securitised products such as CLOs (collateralised loan obligations), targeting assets formed with project finance, especially data centres," said Fumitaka Nakahama, the chief of MUFG's global corporate and investment banking group.

Investment in data centres, driven by demand for generative artificial intelligence, is increasing around the world.

Data centres for domestic demand in the U.S. are relatively resilient to any impact from President Donald Trump's tariff policies, Nakahama said.

Nakahama said MUFG plans to increase the number of people working on securitisation to over 100 from around 80 currently by early next fiscal year.

The division has strengthened its balance sheet, he said, and aims to raise its return on equity into double digits over the medium to long term.

It is the "phase for us to go on the offensive," Nakahama said.

Three years ago, MUFG sold the retail division of U.S. regional lender Union Bank to focus on its debt business.

MUFG has been ranked No. 1 in U.S. project finance loans for 15 successive years. It aims to increase the number of schemes combining project finance and securitisation.