Shinsei Bank CFO:Don't See Further Lehman Losses In Fiscal 4Q

Shinsei Bank Ltd. (8303.TO) said it doesn't expect further losses from exposure linked to failed Lehman Brothers in the fourth quarter, but the bank may post losses from investments in Europe.

"We are not expecting further losses from Lehman" in the next quarter ending March, Shinsei's chief financial officer, Rahul Gupta, said in a telephone conference after the quarterly earnings results. But he added there could be some losses from European asset backed investments.

Shinsei Tuesday reported a group net loss of Y32.13 billion in the nine months ended Dec. 31, down from a Y33.54 billion profit in the same period a year earlier due to losses linked to its exposure to overseas investments, higher credit costs and exposure to Lehman Brothers.

Asked to comment on a move announced earlier Tuesday by the Bank of Japan to buy up to Y1 trillion worth of shares owned by Japan's banks, Gupta said, "I think overall it's a progressive move, though it doesn't impact us directly."

Unlike Japan's biggest lenders, Shinsei doesn't own significant holdings in a raft of Japanese corporations whose value has dwindled as the world's second-biggest economy falters. That drop in value has put pressure on capital ratios at some of the country's biggest banks.

-By Atsuko Fukase, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-5255-2957; [e-mail]

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