Tokyo - Japan's Mizuho Corporate Bank is expected to invest 140 billion yen (1.3 billion dollars) into US brokerage house Merrill Lynch & Co, which is struggling with heavy losses from the subprime loan crisis, Japanese media reported Tuesday. The corporate banking unit of Mizuho Financial Group Inc would be the first Japanese bank to provide financial assistance to a leading US financial institution affected by the subprime mortgage crisis.
Mizuho's investment follows one by Singapore's state-owned fund, which provided about 700 billion yen to the US financial institution.
Merrill Lynch is expected to receive more than 400 billion yen in additional capital from overseas financial institutions and investment funds.
The brokerage firm fell into the red in the July-September quarter of 2007 as a result of subprime-related losses totaling some 900 billion yen, Kyodo News agency reported.
