Mizuho said it now expects a 250 billion yen (S$3.6 billion) group net profit for the fiscal year ending March 2009, down 55 per cent from the previous forecast of 560 billion yen.

The major Japanese banking group is also lowering its profit forecast for the April-September fiscal half to 94 billion yen, nearly one-third of its earlier estimate of 250 billion yen.

Tokyo-based Mizuho, which is set to announce its earnings results on Nov 13, said sharp declines on the Japanese stock market has eroded Mizuho's equity investments.

Fears have been growing about the earnings of major Japanese companies set to announce results in the next few weeks amid global crisis. The financial credit problems, which began in the US, is expected to weigh particularly on Japanese banks and other financial institutions.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average was down 2.7 per cent at midday on Friday. -- AP