For large international banks in Asia Pacific, growth in corporate and investment banking is increasingly a question of how effectively capital is deployed rather than simply how much lending can be added to the balance sheet.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) sees opportunities emerging from artificial intelligence-related infrastructure, the energy transition and the reconfiguration of global supply chains, alongside continued growth in India and among financial institutions, financial sponsors and institutional investors.

But Richard Yorke, Deputy Group Head of MUFG's Global Corporate and Investment Banking (GCIB) Business Group and Deputy Chief Executive of GCIB for Asia Pacific and Global Business Promotion, said the next stage of growth would require the bank to generate stronger returns from each client relationship and use its balance sheet more effectively.

“Lending will remain important, though with greater distribution,” Yorke said. “A significant further opportunity also lies in deepening client relationships across transaction banking, global markets and capital markets.”

Taken together, Yorke's priorities point to an originate-distribute-deepen approach: continue originating financing, increase distribution and use those financing relationships to generate business across a broader range of products.

Yorke said this represented the next stage of a transformation over MUFG's past two medium-term business plans, during which its Asia-Pacific GCIB business had moved from primarily providing balance sheet to delivering broader, tailored financial solutions.

“The next phase of growth for us is to double down on generating stronger returns from each client relationship and using our balance sheet more effectively,” he said.

Finding growth beyond lending

Yorke identified several long-term sources of demand across Asia Pacific. Accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence is driving investment in data centres and supporting energy infrastructure, while the energy transition continues to create substantial financing requirements.

Changes in supply chains are producing another source of business as companies respond to shifts in markets and geopolitics.

“This is creating greater demand for cross-border financing, risk management and transaction banking solutions,” Yorke said.

MUFG also sees significant potential in India, across financial institutions and among financial sponsors and institutional investors.

India has become a larger component of MUFG's regional strategy. MUFG Bank completed its investment in Shriram Finance in April 2026 after agreeing to acquire a 20% stake for about $4.4 billion. MUFG has positioned the investment as part of establishing a stronger business foundation in India's micro, small and medium-sized enterprise and retail markets.

For GCIB, Yorke placed these growth opportunities within a wider change in how the business intends to deploy capital. Capital efficiency, distribution and cross-selling would be “fundamental” to the strategy, he said.

“This means stepping up our engagement with clients and maintaining our focus on balance-sheet optimisation, origination and distribution, while deepening relationships across global markets, transaction banking and capital markets,” Yorke said.

“Lending will always remain an important part of what we offer, but it must concurrently create opportunities for a much broader and more strategic client relationship,” he said.

The strategy therefore does not diminish the role of lending. It changes what MUFG expects lending to accomplish. Financing remains a core product, but the bank intends to increase distribution and connect those relationships to other businesses.

The model links the bank's regional growth ambitions with its objective of generating stronger returns from client relationships and using the balance sheet more effectively.

Connecting Japan with a more international Asia

MUFG also sees an opportunity in the increasingly international nature of its corporate client base. Japanese multinational corporations continue to expand overseas, Asian companies are becoming more international and global companies are showing greater interest in Japan.

Yorke said MUFG's position as Japan's largest bank, its longstanding domestic corporate relationships and a global network spanning more than 50 markets gave it a distinct advantage in connecting these flows.

“We can support Japanese multinational corporations (MNCs) as they expand internationally and help Asian companies grow into Japan and other global markets, while providing global MNCs access to one of the world's most important economies,” he said.

Yorke said MUFG was seeing growing interest in Japan from both existing global clients and new entrants.

“I visit global clients there regularly and continue to see ever stronger interest in the opportunities the market presents,” he said. “Our role is to help clients navigate those opportunities and connect them to the right expertise, relationships, and solutions across our network, the largest in Japan.”

The Japan connection sits alongside MUFG's broader regional network and its strategic alliance with Morgan Stanley, which has expanded across multiple businesses.

Yorke included Morgan Stanley alongside MUFG's ASEAN partner banks and its own global network among the capabilities the bank can bring together for clients operating across geographies.

As companies become more international in both directions, Japanese groups expanding overseas and Asian and global companies seeking opportunities in Japan, the value of that network increasingly depends on whether MUFG can connect relationships across markets rather than serve them as separate domestic or regional accounts.

Turning the Asian network into client business

Having a large geographic footprint and extensive product capabilities does not by itself translate into greater relevance or wallet share, Yorke acknowledged.

“A wide global network and broad product set are not enough on their own,” he said. “What differentiates us is how effectively we bring these capabilities together, consistently over time, to add value for our clients.”

MUFG's regional proposition combines its own branch network with partner banks in Southeast Asia, the Morgan Stanley alliance and newer relationships and investments including Shriram Finance.

Its ASEAN partner-bank ecosystem includes Krungsri in Thailand, VietinBank in Vietnam, Security Bank in the Philippines and Bank Danamon in Indonesia.

Yorke said these components collectively provided expertise, connectivity and capital that MUFG could use to deepen client relationships. Transaction banking provides one example of how MUFG is putting that strategy into practice.

MUFG launched MUFG Unity in April 2026 as a regional payments and collections platform connecting MUFG with its ASEAN partner banks. It enables corporate clients to access local payment and collection capabilities across participating markets through a single MUFG relationship.

Yorke cited Unity as an example of translating the group's regional ecosystem into a practical client proposition.

“By enabling clients to access banking services more seamlessly across multiple markets, we are translating the strength of our ecosystem into practical solutions that support their growth and expansion across Asia,” he said.

“When we consistently demonstrate commitment and value, then trust, deeper relationships, and new opportunities for collaboration will follow.”

The strategic value of MUFG's regional footprint increasingly lies in its ability to make those components work together for clients.

That is also directly connected to the bank's wallet-share ambitions. If MUFG can use financing, transaction banking and its regional relationships to address more of a client's needs across markets, the same corporate relationship can support a broader range of businesses without depending solely on additional lending.

From balance-sheet provider to strategic partner

Yorke joined MUFG in 2019, when he said the bank was building its GCIB platform for growth and proving that its strategy could work.

He described the subsequent transformation as extending beyond revenue to the growing pride, conviction and confidence of the Asia-Pacific team.

The underlying strategy, however, has remained consistent: use MUFG's competitive advantages while encouraging greater collaboration across businesses, regions and functions.

“This culture of true collaboration has been a key driver of our transformation and a strength for the bank,” Yorke said. “It has enabled us to remain relevant to clients, deepen relationships and deliver stronger results.”

That collaboration becomes increasingly important if growth is expected to come from generating more business from each client relationship.

A financing relationship can involve transaction banking, global markets and capital-markets capabilities across multiple countries and MUFG entities. Yorke's emphasis on a “One MUFG” culture reflects the organisational model required to bring those capabilities together.

The first outcome that would demonstrate that the Asia-Pacific CIB franchise had moved to the next level, he said, would be clients continuing to see MUFG as a strategic partner rather than simply a lender.

“This means we are engaged across multiple areas of their business, bringing together our capabilities in financing, transaction banking, global markets and capital markets to provide more holistic solutions,” he said.

The second would be further strengthening the “One MUFG” culture of professionalism, teamwork and collaboration.

“One of our most compelling propositions is the ability of our people to quickly come together across products, markets, and entities, and this should be further embedded into our organisation,” Yorke said.

Making capital work harder

Yorke's responses describe an evolution in MUFG's Asia-Pacific CIB model rather than a retreat from balance-sheet banking.

Lending remains central, but the bank wants to originate and distribute more effectively and use financing relationships to generate business across transaction banking, global markets and capital markets. In that model, the measure of growth becomes not only how much financing the bank provides, but how effectively each client relationship uses the wider franchise.

At the same time, MUFG is seeking to derive more value from a broad regional ecosystem encompassing its Japanese corporate franchise, Asia-Pacific branches, Southeast Asian partner banks, Morgan Stanley and investments such as Shriram Finance.

Yorke's third measure of progress was whether MUFG could continue improving its platform with urgency through investment in capabilities, its network and people.

“Our goal is to make MUFG indispensable to clients and help them access the full value of our global franchise,” he said.

The next stage of MUFG's Asia-Pacific CIB development will therefore be less about demonstrating the breadth of the franchise than converting that breadth into deeper client relationships. The originate-distribute-deepen approach captures the direction Yorke described: pursuing growth opportunities across Asia Pacific while seeking stronger returns from the capital and client relationships already within the franchise.