Takayoshi Futae takes the helm at MUFG Bank as the regional executive for Asia starting July 2018. Based in Singapore, his new responsibility now covers China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. In a recent conversation with The Asset’s editor-in-chief Daniel Yu, Futae explains the role of transaction banking and why MUFG Bank is sitting on a gold mine given the US$8 billion it has invested in the past four years into Asian institutions such as Krungsri Bank in Thailand, Security Bank in the Philippines and Vietinbank in Vietnam. Together with its proposed acquisition of a 40% stake in Bank Danamon in Indonesia and its 24.9% investment in Morgan Stanley, MUFG Bank he says, is a new hybrid animal in Asia with a global footprint, strong links to Japanese multinationals and able to access a network of local banks to serve small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region.

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