The chairman and CEO of Daiwa Capital Markets Europe talks about the business's shift from Japanese securities house to pan-Asian investment banking presence with a European footprint.

The role of the Development Bank of Japan in seeing the country through its export crisis is mired in confusion as it is caught between its public past and private future. However, the state-owned Japan Bank for International Co-operation is having no such problems in bailing out the overseas operations of Japanese exporters. Writer Charles Smith in Tokyo

The CEO of Nomura for the EMEA region has taken the Japanese bank through its acquisition of Lehman Brothers' EMEA business and is determined to get maximum gains from the deal. Writer Geraldine Lambe

The future business of Yucho Bank, the unwieldy beast that emerged from the privatisation of Japan’s postal system, is unclear and it faces hostility from private players. Charles Smith reports from Tokyo.

Banks’ overall downturn in performance, despite Japan’s economic growth, signals a rough road ahead.

The six major Japanese bank groups posted a total profit of ¥1513.9bn ($13.2bn) before tax and minority interests for the half year to September 30, 2007, down 33.5% from ¥2274.8bn in the same period in fiscal 2006.

Between 40 and 50 Daiwa executives in Tokyo are going to discover this month that they are bound for pastures new, maybe other parts of Asia or maybe London.