Shinsei Bank Favorite to Acquire Japan’s Failed Daiichi Mutual

Japan’s Daiichi Mutual Fire & Marine Insurance Co., which collapsed in May, will most likely be purchased by Shinsei Bank, industry sources told Kyodo News Service Thursday. The two companies will try to come up with an agreement sometime this month, the sources said.

In Japan, no bank has ever bought an insurance entity. For the most part, the law does not allow banks to enter the insurance sector, except when a bank takes over insurance contracts of a collapsed insurer.