MUFG and rivals are under growing pressure to reduce costs, which have steadily risen amid a slowdown in revenue growth in recent years. At the same time, aggressive overseas expansion has brought increased expenses. Mizuho Financial Group Inc (T: 8411 ), the least profitable among Japan's biggest three lenders, has also suffered a rise in costs in recent years. The bank has said it would cut about 100 domestic locations, or one-fifth of the current total, by the end of March 2025. Together with a headcount reduction of 14,000 by that time, the bank plans to cut more than 100 billion yen ($913.99 million) in costs. "We have not been able to offset revenue decline with cost control," said Mizuho CEO Tatsufumi Sakai at an earnings briefing. Traditionally, banks have kept spacious branches in prime, high-rent locations with dozens of staff working behind counters to process documents.