NEW YORK, April 1, 2020 – Masahiro Kuwahara Joins Board, Replacing Retiring Board Member Muneaki Tokunari
MUFG, one of the world’s leading financial groups, today announced that Kazuo (“Kaz”) Koshi has been appointed Executive Chairman of the board of directors for MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation and its U.S. banking subsidiary, MUFG Union Bank, N.A., effective April 1, 2020. He has been a member of the board of directors since 2016 and active with MUFG’s U.S. subsidiaries since the mid-1990s. He will continue to be based in New York.
Mr. Koshi succeeds Masato Miyachi, who has been a member of the board of directors since 2016 and Chairman since 2017. Mr. Miyachi will continue in his role as Head of MUFG’s Global Corporate and Investment Banking (GCIB) Group, based in Tokyo.
Additionally, Masahiro (“Masa”) Kuwahara, Senior Managing Corporate Executive, Group Chief Risk Officer for MUFG in Tokyo, will join the board of directors for MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation and MUFG Union Bank, effective April 1, 2020. Since 2019, Mr. Kuwahara has been a member of the U.S. Risk Committee, which is a subcommittee of the MUFG board of directors’ Risk Committee. As previously announced, Muneaki ("Aki") Tokunari retired on March 31, 2020, from MUFG as Senior Managing Corporate Executive and Group Chief Financial Officer and stepped down from the board of directors on March 30, 2020.
“On behalf of my fellow board members, we are delighted that Kaz has been appointed Executive Chairman,” said Toby S. Myerson, lead outside director. “For more than 12 years, Kaz has been one of the key leaders of MUFG Americas, which gives him a unique perspective as Executive Chairman.” Mr. Myerson continued, “Masato has been a terrific Chairman and our board has greatly benefitted from his leadership. We wish him well as he continues to lead our parent’s global corporate and investment banking business. We welcome Masa to the board and thank Aki for his more than four years of distinguished and truly valued service as a director.”
Mr. Koshi has more than 30 years of experience with MUFG, including the legacy organization, and in recent years has been continuously engaged in the formulation and execution of Americas strategy. He has accrued 19 years of work experience in the U.S. since 1995, assigned to managerial positions on the West and East Coasts, on both the business and support sides.
Over the past several years, Mr. Koshi has served in multiple distinct positions for MUFG and MUFG Bank, Ltd., its commercial banking subsidiary. To that end, Mr. Koshi will remain on an interim basis in his current role, which he has held since 2017, as Managing Executive Officer and Deputy Regional Executive for the Americas. He will also remain Deputy Executive in Charge of MUFG’s Global Financial Crimes Compliance Division; this position is not interim.
A native of Japan, Mr. Koshi earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Engineering in 1985, and an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, in 1990.
About Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.’s U.S. Operations including MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation
The U.S. operations of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG), one of the world’s leading financial groups, has total assets of $341.4 billion at December 31, 2019. As part of that total, MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation (MUAH), a financial holding company, bank holding company and intermediate holding company, has total assets of $170.8 billion at December 31, 2019. MUAH’s main subsidiaries are MUFG Union Bank, N.A. and MUFG Securities Americas Inc. MUFG Union Bank, N.A. provides a wide range of financial services to consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies, and major corporations. As of December 31, 2019, MUFG Union Bank, N.A. operated 349 branches, consisting primarily of retail banking branches in the West Coast states, along with commercial branches in Texas, Illinois, New York and Georgia. MUFG Securities Americas Inc. is a registered securities broker-dealer which engages in capital markets origination transactions, domestic and foreign debt and equities securities transactions, private placements, collateralized financings, and securities borrowing and lending transactions. MUAH is owned by MUFG Bank, Ltd. and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. MUFG Bank, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., has offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, and Canada. Visit https://www.unionbank.com or www.mufgamericas.com for more information.