Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG; 株式会社三菱UFJフィナンシャル・グループ, Kabushiki Gaisha Mitsubishi Yūefujei Finansharu Gurūpu) is a Japanese bank holding / financial services company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.

MUFG holds assets of around US$2.459 trillion as of 2016, making it the world's fifth largest bank by total assets and is one of the main companies of the Mitsubishi Group. It is Japan's largest financial group and the world's second largest bank holding company holding around US$1.8 trillion (JPY 148 trillion) in deposits as of March 2011. MUFG is the second largest public company in Japan when measured by market capitalization.

The company was formed on October 1, 2005 with the merger of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group (MTFG), and Osaka-based UFJ Holdings.

The core banking units of the group, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UFJ Bank, were merged on January 1, 2006 to form The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. This integration was originally scheduled to take place on October 1, 2005, the same day that the parent companies were merged. However, pressure from Japan's Financial Services Agency, which wanted to ensure the smooth systems integration of the two banking giants, caused the merger of the banks to be postponed for three months. The trust banking and securities units of MTFG and UFJ were merged according to the original schedule on October 1, 2005.

The financial group dates back to 1880 as the Yokohama Specie Bank, later renamed to The Bank of Tokyo. Also in 1880, The Mitsubishi Bank, Ltd. was founded by former samurai Yataro Iwasaki. In 1919, the Mitsubishi Bank financed the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, most of which is today Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. After the Second World War the Mitsubishi Keiretsu was broken up under US imposed laws, and Mitsubishi Bank took on greater independence, albeit still central to the financing of the growth of the Mitsubishi group of companies.

In April 1996, The Mitsubishi Bank, Ltd. and The Bank of Tokyo, Ltd. merged. The Bank of Tokyo had been set up by the Japanese Government to act as Japan's international bank, and solely responsible for all Yen forex trading. During the Second World War The Bank of Tokyo had controversially been the banker to the Imperial Japanese Army as it expanded through conquest throughout Asia. Its monopolistic position, dominating all Yen forex trades, was eroded over time and eventually ended during the 1990s. However, uniquely in Japan, with no Keiretsu, Bank of Tokyo was an ideal partner for Mitsubishi Bank, complementing the latter' strong domestic franchise with a unique international footprint. Additionally, during Japans lost decade of economic stagnation, this marriage of two relatively strong banks was seen as a positive step in cleaning up the country's moribund banking sector.

In July 2004, Japan's fourth-largest financial group UFJ Holdings offered to merge with MTFG. The merger of the two bank holding companies was completed on October 1, 2005. UFJ was created from a merger with the Toyo Trust and Banking, a part of the Toyota Motor Corporation. Toyota's chairman sat on the board of the UFJ which became one of the world's largest money losing corporations. UFJ was accused by the government of corruption and making bad loans to the yakuza crime syndicates. The UFJ is one of the largest shareholders of Toyota. The trust banking and securities units of the two groups were merged on the same day. The core banking units of MTFG and UFJ, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd. and UFJ Bank, respectively, continued to operate separately until January 1, 2006, when they were merged to form The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd..

In September 2008, MUFG signed a letter of intent with Morgan Stanley to form an alliance and purchase 20% of the American firm.

In 2008 at the 2008 ALB Japan Law Awards, Mitsubishi UFJ was crowned:

In April 2011, MUFG and Morgan Stanley entered into an agreement to convert MUFG's outstanding convertible preferred stock in Morgan Stanley into Morgan Stanley stock.

Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group, Inc. (MTFG; 株式会社三菱東京フィナンシャル・グループ, Kabushiki kaisha mitsubishi tōkyō finansharu gurūpu) was one of Japan's largest banks ranked by assets (an estimated US$1 trillion), second only to Mizuho Holdings. On October 1, 2005, MTFG completed the acquisition of UFJ Holdings, Japan's fourth largest banking group, to form the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), the world's largest bank ranked by assets with ¥190 trillion (approximately $1.7 trillion).

MTFG was widely considered financially the strongest of Japan's large banks, with non-performing loans down to 2.9% of assets.

UFJ Holdings, Inc. (株式会社UFJホールディングス, UFJ; Kabushiki kaisha yūefujei hōrudingusu) was the weakest among the three major banking groups in Japan. "UFJ" is an abbreviation of "United Financial of Japan", was formed from a merger of Sanwa Bank and Tokai Bank with the Toyo Trust & Banking Co. Ltd, a part of the Toyota Motor Corporation. At the time, it was one of the largest shareholders of Toyota. The Chairman of Toyota was a director on its board during the financial scandals and indictments of three UFJ executives. The banking crisis led to its merger, after being one of the world's greatest losing corporations, on October 1, 2005, with the Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group to form the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

Formed April 1, 2001, with the merger of Sanwa Bank, Tokai Bank, and Toyo Trust and Banking.

In July 2004, UFJ announced plans to merge with the Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group. The merger was completed on October 1, 2005, creating the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, the world's second biggest bank by assets at $1.7 trillion, trailing behind Citigroup with $2.4 trillion in assets.

In June 2011, MUFG took a 9.99 percent stake in Lynas Corp, the Australian rare earths developer.

(as of January 1, 2006)

As of March 31, 2013

Account