TOKYO, July 2: Many foreign investment banks such as Merrill Lynch Japan Ltd. and Credit Suisse First Boston’s Japan-based arm lost money in the year to March, hit by dismal Tokyo market conditions, officials said on Tuesday.

A slump in the local equity and bond markets coupled with a dearth of mergers and acquisitions pushed a majority of banks into the red, spokespeople from the institutions said.

Certain banks filed individual earnings reports to Japan’s financial authorities on Monday.

The Japanese branches of 22 foreign investment firms swung to a collective net loss of 67.8 billion yen over the last financial year, reversing a net profit of 52.5 billion yen a year earlier, according to data from the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).

The unwinding of cross-shareholdings by banks and a wave of major bankruptcies added to the industry’s woes, according to the Tokyo bourse.—AFP