Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. plans to sell most of its American banking unit MUFG Union Bank to U.S. Bancorp in a deal expected to be worth over 1 trillion yen ($9.12 billion), sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

MUFG Union Bank's operations for corporate customers will be transferred to the major Japanese financial group and all the bank's shares will be sold to U.S. Bancorp, the sources said.

MUFG is expected to secure some U.S. Bancorp shares later to form a capital tie-up as the Japanese firm reassesses its underperforming U.S. sectors.

Union Bank, which became a subsidiary of MUFG in 2008, operates around 300 branches centered around the West Coast of the United States. The bank had been struggling financially in recent years due to low interest rates and rising costs to maintain the outlets.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. Bancorp runs more than 2,000 branches in the United States.

==Kyodo

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