IN BRIEF (Page 16)

Japanese banks to merge

SoJapan's Shinsei Bank Ltd and Aozora Bank Ltd - two money-losing midsize lenders with major US stakeholders - have agreed to merge and will begin the process by next summer, the Nikkei financial daily reported yesterday.

Both banks appear to have gotten the go-ahead for the deal from their top shareholders and may announce details including merger ratio and top executives as early as this month, the Nikkei said.