Mizuho admits safe deposit thefts occurred in 2019

Mizuho Bank’s signboard is pictured in Tokyo, Japan, January 25, 2017. —File photo from Reuters

TOKYO, Feb. 18 — Mizuho Bank admitted Tuesday that a total of several tens of millions of yen in cash was stolen from two customers’ safe deposit boxes at a branch in 2019.

The bank said that it detected the thefts within that year and dismissed an employee involved while compensating the two customers. It had reported the matter to the Financial Services Agency but had not made it public.

The bank “sincerely and deeply” apologized for the matter. As the reason for having not disclosed the matter, the bank cited “relationships with customers and others.”

Mizuho did not disclose the details of the thefts, such as the name and location of the bank branch or how the cash was stolen.

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In the wake of the safe deposit thefts, Mizuho said it conducted an internal investigation and confirmed no similar cases, while reviewing operational procedures.

Mizuho last month stopped accepting new customers for its safe deposit box service in principle at its branches across the country, following the revelation of safe deposit thefts at MUFG Bank, another major Japanese bank, in November last year.

Between April 2019 and December last year, the FSA received three reports from banks, including MUFG, about problems related to safe deposit boxes.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi urged financial institutions to check their management systems and make other efforts to restore trust.

“Customer trust is the most important thing in the banking business,” he stressed.