BTMU appoints first foreign executive officer

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU), which is on a push to increase its overseas market share, has appointed Randy Chafetz to be its first non-Japanese executive officer.

He will relocate to Tokyo from New York, where he has been head of corporate and investment banking for the Americas since 2008. The new appointment gives him responsibility for BTMU’s global corporate and investment bank, outside Japan.

Chafetz will report to Takashi Morimura, deputy president and chief executive of BTMU’s global business unit, and Takahiro Yanai, managing executive officer.

“[Chavetz] has helped lead BTMU in the Americas to unprecedented levels of success, expanding the business significantly,” says Takashi Morimura.

The bank adds that Chafetz has led the corporate and investment banking business in the Americas to record revenues in each of the past five years. The unit serves mainly corporate clients across the US and in Canada, Mexico and Central and South America.

Chafetz joined BTMU in 1998 and has held various roles within the bank and the securities firm.

BTMU is Japan's biggest lender, with a global network spanning more than 40 countries. BTMU offers an extensive scope of commercial and investment banking products and services to businesses, governments, and individuals worldwide.

The bank is owned by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, which has with total assets of more than ¥224 trillion ($2.6 trillion) as of December 31, 2012.