Mizuho Financial Group

Universal bank · Tokyo, Japan

Mizuho is the third of Japan's three megabanks and a global systemically important bank, formed in 2000 to 2002 from Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Fuji Bank and the Industrial Bank of Japan. Mizuho Bank is the only bank apart from Japan Post Bank with branches in every Japanese prefecture, and the group runs its global transaction banking headquarters from Singapore with offices in China, Hong Kong, Tokyo, London and New York. Moody's rates the group A1 and Fitch rates Mizuho Bank A. Mizuho Bank signed a memorandum of understanding with MUFG Bank and SMBC in June 2026 to examine a jointly issued stablecoin, with live transactions targeted during fiscal 2026. The bank offers no crypto trading or custody to clients. For fiscal 2025 it reported a return on equity of 11.4 percent, and its CET1 ratio excluding unrealised gains slipped to 9.9 percent at March 2026.

Legal name: Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.
Regulated by: Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA), Bank of Japan, Federal Reserve and NYDFS (Mizuho Americas, Mizuho Bank New York branch), PRA/FCA (Mizuho Bank London), De Nederlandsche Bank (Mizuho Bank Europe N.V.), MAS (Singapore)
Licence confirmed: yes, on a regulator's own list
Established: 2000
Website: www.mizuhogroup.com

Scores, 0 to 10

8.5Financial strength & stability

G-SIB rated A1 by Moody's and A by Fitch (Mizuho Bank). · source

7.5Asia-Pacific (SG, HK, AU, JP, KR)

Branches in every Japanese prefecture and a Singapore-based global transaction banking hub with Hong Kong and China offices. · source

7.5Trade, manufacturing & import-export

Trade finance through the transaction banking network in Asia, Europe and the US. · source

7.0Cross-border payments, FX and multi-currency accounts

Global transaction banking from Singapore, Tokyo, London and New York; FX margins not published. Dedicated global transaction banking headquarters in Singapore since 2016. · source

6.0Business cards (Visa, Mastercard)

Mizuho Business Debit on Visa with no annual fee draws directly on the corporate account, and the bank sells UC Corporate and UC Purchasing cards, the Orico Mizuho Business Gold card and the UPSIDER card with limits up to 1 billion yen and 1 percent rebate. · source

5.5Customer satisfaction

Trustpilot holds no reviewed profile for Mizuho, so the reading comes from the app stores. The Mizuho Bank app scores 4.5 from 355,459 ratings on the Japanese App Store, while the separate account-opening and procedures app scores only 3.0 from 85,351 ratings. · source

5.0United States

Mizuho Americas and the New York branch provide corporate and investment banking; no US SME accounts. · source

5.0Lowest fees

No English-language corporate fee schedule is published on the bank's global site. · source

5.0Off-ramp: crypto to fiat in a business account

Evidence is thin: Mizuho publishes no rule against receiving withdrawals from registered Japanese exchanges and no source-of-funds process for them; its September 2026 anti-fraud notice covers outgoing transfers only. · source

4.5Fintech companies that need a partner bank

Digital-asset work is a three-bank council with MUFG Bank and SMBC rather than a Mizuho product, and the stablecoin behind it is not live. · source

4.5Online businesses: e-commerce and SaaS

Corporate settlement in Japan; no multi-currency collection account for foreign merchants listed. The corporate foreign exchange fee table prices only US dollar and euro transfers, and no API, Stripe or accounting integration is published; a Japanese entity with a resident director is required. · source

4.5Startups & VC-backed companies

Startups are served as corporates through branch onboarding. · source

4.5On-ramp: buy crypto with fiat

Mizuho Bank's page updated 9 September 2026 says it refuses transfers to crypto exchange accounts sent under a name other than the account holder's and may restrict other transfers to exchanges, so same-name payments to FSA-registered exchanges work but can be held. · source

4.0Europe (EU, EEA, Switzerland)

Mizuho Bank Europe N.V. and continental offices serve corporates only. · source

4.0United Kingdom

London office of the transaction banking unit serves corporates only. · source

3.5Best interest on business balances

No business savings or treasury yield product is listed on the global site. · source

3.5Fast digital onboarding

Corporate accounts are opened through branches with no online path listed for foreign companies. · source

3.5Foreign-owned & non-resident companies

Only a Japanese KK or GK with a representative director resident in Japan can apply, banks take identity checks in person or through a proxy visit, and approval takes two to three weeks or longer at the megabanks. Mizuho asks for less paperwork than the other two megabanks. · source

3.0Crypto-friendly bank

No crypto trading or custody; the bank publishes research on stablecoin issuers instead. · source

2.5Stablecoins (USDC, USDT and others)

On 10 June 2026 Mizuho Bank, MUFG Bank and SMBC agreed to issue a joint trust-based yen stablecoin and aim for live commercial transactions by March 2027; nothing is available to business clients yet. · source

2.0High-risk verticals (iGaming, cannabis, adult, forex)

Japan's Penal Code Articles 185 and 186 make gambling and running a gambling place criminal offences apart from public betting and licensed integrated resorts, online casinos are illegal even when licensed abroad, and the bank publishes no onboarding path for adult, cannabis or forex clients. · source

1.0Crypto wallet and custody for a business

Mizuho's bank and trust bank custody pages cover securities, investment trusts and yen settlement only, with no crypto custody for companies, checked September 2026. · source

1.0Accept crypto payments

No crypto or stablecoin acceptance for merchants exists at Mizuho today; its only stablecoin plan is the three-bank coin that has no live transactions yet, checked September 2026. · source

1.0Bitcoin

No bitcoin buying, custody or transfer is offered to business clients by Mizuho Bank, Mizuho Trust & Banking or Mizuho Securities, checked September 2026. · source

1.0Ethereum

No ether or token service is offered to business clients across the Mizuho group, checked September 2026. · source

Sources

Built on public information and the BankStore team's own aggregated experience; no confidential client or partner data. Bank Index and BankStore are not banks. This is information, not financial advice.