Japanese Megabanks Report Record Profits and Reinvest in AI: MUFG Records 250 Use Cases

MUFG, Japan's largest bank, closed the fiscal year ending in March with a record net profit of ¥2.4 trillion, a 30% increase compared to the previous year and its third consecutive record. This is the first time a Japanese megabank has surpassed the ¥2 trillion mark. Its peers followed suit: Sumitomo Mitsui (SMBC) rose 34%, and Mizuho earned ¥1.25 trillion, a 41% increase. The combination that unlocked these numbers has a familiar name—the Bank of Japan's shift to positive interest rates—but how this cash is being reinvested is what matters to the technology C-suite.

Interest Profit, Reinvestment in AI

MUFG has begun to describe itself as an "AI-native" institution. The bank has implemented 250 AI use cases already, a pace that, according to the company itself, exceeds the original roadmap, and it projects a cumulative gain of ¥30 billion from these initiatives, which range from automated email monitoring to the generation of commercial proposals. The financial reading reinforces the bet: the bank projects a profit of ¥2.7 trillion for the fiscal year 2027. Here appears a distinction that shallow debate often overlooks. A profitable institution, funding technology with operational cash generated by higher interest rates, is in a different game from a lab that is burning venture capital to support operations. MUFG invests from a position of strength, not survival. Together, the three groups form the core of a banking system that has returned to profitability after nearly two decades of interest rates near zero, and the decision to channel part of this surplus into AI, rather than just dividends and buybacks, is intentional.

Japanese Capital Joins the Modelling Table

The reinvestment does not stop within the bank's walls. Japan's three largest financial groups—MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho—joined the round that expanded Sakana AI's Series A to $200 million, alongside NEC, SBI, Dai-ichi Life, ITOCHU, KDDI, Fujitsu, and Nomura. In May 2025, MUFG had signed a three-year agreement with Sakana to develop an AI-based "credit specialist" capable of refining recommendations based on feedback from human analysts. This move sketches a model of patient capital: instead of cutting staff and announcing efficiency gains, Japanese banks are using record profits to acquire stakes in AI providers and train the system with their own expertise. The difference compared to the Western roadmap lies in the origin of the funds: the capital comes from the bank's balance sheet, not from a fund requiring a quick exit, which reduces the pressure for immediate cuts to justify spending.

There is a brake in the narrative. Analysts consulted by CNBC warned that the growth rate may cool down, and Japanese banks are monitoring tensions in the Middle East that could weigh on their results. The projected ¥30 billion gain from AI, against a profit of ¥2.4 trillion, remains a modest fraction, more a sign of direction than of consolidated impact.

The Brazilian Parallel

For the national financial system, the Japanese case offers a useful counterpoint to the narrative of cuts dominating the United States and Europe. Here, the logic of "interest profit reinvested in AI" is already familiar. Itaú maintains over 500 AI projects, expanded its team to around 17,000 developers, and created Itaú Ventures, a venture capital vehicle with R$ 500 million committed to invest in startups and technology, the same gesture of acquiring a stake that MUFG and peers are making with Sakana. Bradesco, with the BIA Tech assistant used by 80% of its developers, reports a productivity gain of 46%, while Nubank states that its AI handles more than 2 million chats per month.

The choice of foundation is strategic and still open in Brazil. Japanese banks reinvest record profits in AI without currently announcing layoffs attributed to technology, while Americans cut jobs and fund at the same time. Which of the two paths the Brazilian sector will follow determines less the discourse of innovation and more what will happen to the tens of thousands of back-office jobs that support the country's banks.