Aomori Michinoku Bank, Iwate Bank and Akita Bank plan to enter merger discussions as early as Friday, with no final decision reached. If completed, their combined consolidated assets would exceed ¥13 trillion, or approximately $82.3 billion, making the group the largest regional banking organization in northeastern Japan and surpassing The 77 B. The proposed tie-up would bring together leading lenders from three neighboring prefectures in the Tohoku region, where population declines are reducing customer bases. Regional banks are also competing more aggressively for deposits as the Bank of Japan moves away from its longstanding ultra-loose monetary policy. Procrea Holdings, the parent company of Aomori Michinoku Bank, confirmed the planned discussions. The bank was created after two Aomori-based lenders established Procrea Holdings in 2022 and merged into a single operating unit in 2025. A combination could improve operating efficiency, support branch-network optimization and strengthen the lenders’ ability to manage changing domestic interest-rate conditions.