TOKYO: Mizuho Bank and Hitachi Ltd. are discussing how they should share the costs related to losses at client firms of the bank that resulted from the March 11-12 glitch at a Mizuho system developed by the major Japanese machinery maker, it was learned Monday.

The system glitch happened partly because Hitachi-developed equipment did not switch to a backup device although it went out of order.

The system trouble led to delays in 263 cases of remittances of foreign currency-denominated funds worth a total of some 50 billion yen to accounts of other banks. The transfers had been scheduled to take place on March 12.

Mizuho Bank, one of Japan’s top three banks, has so far shouldered the customers’ losses traced to the delays in the remittances while believing that Hitachi is partly responsible for the losses because the equipment was developed by the company, according to informed sources.

System glitches have hit Mizuho Bank four times since late February, including the March 11-12 trouble, the last of the series of problems.

Mizuho Bank has said in a statement that it would not comment on individual transactions but that it is responsible for its services.

On Wednesday, the bank and its parent, Mizuho Financial Group Inc., submitted to the Financial Services Agency a report on the causes of the system failures and measures aimed at preventing similar issues.

The report also referred to the Hitachi side’s responsibility for the March 11-12 trouble.

JIJI Press