SoftBank’s main lender Mizuho ‘unconcerned’ about tech group’s financial health

The chief executive of Mizuho, SoftBank’s main lender, said he was “totally unconcerned” about the Japanese technology conglomerate’s financial health despite the sell-off in tech stocks forcing it to slow down investments.

Mizuho, Japan’s third-largest lender, is part of a consortium of banks that provided SoftBank with a syndicated loan of $8bn this month as billionaire founder Masayoshi Son prepares to list UK chip designer Arm Holdings.

Mizuho’s exposure to SoftBank is estimated by analysts to be in the range of $2.3bn to $4bn, with successive chief executives taking pride in being one of Son’s main banks. SoftBank’s chief financial officer Yoshimitsu Goto has described the association as an “absolute relationship of trust”.

Masahiro Kihara, Mizuho’s chief executive who replaced his predecessor in February after a series of serious technology glitches, said he trusted SoftBank’s calculations of its debt.

“SoftBank properly controls its loan-to-value ratio and it also has a cash position covering bond redemptions for at least the next two years, so at this point, we don’t think there’s any issue,” said Kihara.

“Of course, we are analysing each other carefully. But I am totally unconcerned about this,” he added, speaking at the bank’s Tokyo headquarters.

Kihara’s comments come after Son…