MUFG and SBI strike Japan‑India tie
Japan’s MUFG Bank and India’s State Bank of India announced a strategic partnership to support Japanese companies expanding into India and Indian firms entering Japanese markets, formalizing cross‑border business support announced. The deal could ease operational and market‑entry work for consultancies advising clients on Japan‑India expansion.
MUFG Bank and the State Bank of India formalised the Strategic Partnership Agreement in a MUFG press release dated March 12, 2026. mufg.jp SBI’s scale cited in MUFG’s release — “23,000+ branches” and total assets of INR 71.6 trillion as of December 2025 — underpins the partner bank’s domestic distribution reach. mufg.jp MUFG’s statement notes the group now operates six on‑the‑ground locations across India and traces its India presence back to a Bombay branch opened in 1894, while MUFG’s wider network spans roughly 2,000 locations and about 150,000 employees. mufg.jp The alliance arrives after the Reserve Bank of India finalised rules in February 2026 that allow banks to finance up to 75% of acquisition value, a change Bloomberg reported as likely to expand M&A lending capacity in India’s ~$40bn‑plus deals market. bloomberg.com Regulatory guardrails attached to that shift include prudential exposure limits — KPMG flagged a cap that acquisition‑finance exposure cannot exceed 20% of a bank’s consolidated net worth — which frames how MUFG and SBI might allocate joint underwriting capacity. kpmg.com Trade and media reports list structuring and financing for M&A, aviation fleet expansion and large real‑estate financings among the partnership’s early focal areas, signalling deal types likely to generate advisory and integration work. channelnewsasia.com Recruitment and job‑board activity already shows demand for deal teams and advisory specialists in India, with active “Deal Advisory” listings on Michael Page and independent M&A consultant roles posted on Foundit in March 2026, and Big Four firms advertising end‑to‑end transaction and integration services. michaelpage.co.in
