Regional banks need to stop their fixation with the old-fashioned buy-and-hold strategy and be more nimble to make the most of their investments, a three-decade industry veteran says.
The current low interest-rate environment calls for lenders to adopt a trading mentality and look to lock-in capital gains when they can, instead of focusing on long-term valuations or fixed targets, said Naoto Oguri, who spent about 35 years at Shizuoka Bank, most of them in the markets¡¯ division. He left the regional lender in 2015 to set up an advisory firm the following year.
¡°The biggest problem at Japanese banks is their fixation with unrealized losses or gains,¡± said Oguri, now president at Nagomi Capital Co. in Tokyo, in a recent interview. ¡°They should aim to lock-in profits and sell when it gets risky. There is no profit until you sell.¡±
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.