On July 13, 2004, a briefcase containing information on customers of the Mizuho Corporate Bank("MHCB") was stolen in the city of Dalian. The briefcase belonged to an employee of a software development company (which is a subsidiary of the Mizuho Financial Group and has a contract with MHCB) who was on a business trip to China at the time.
The briefcase contained a personal computer used for business and floppy disks, which together contained account numbers, account balances, outstanding loan balances, and other information on approximately 1,700 customers of MHCB's Beijing Branch and Dalian Branch, as well as the names of approximately 60 customers of the Hong Kong Branch.
MHCB has already begun contacting customers to explain the circumstances and to apologize for this incident.
A report of the theft has already been made to local law enforcement authorities. At present, the stolen items have not been recovered. However, there has been no indication that the stolen customer information has been improperly used.
MHCB deeply regrets that this incident has occurred and would like to express its sincerest apologies to its customers and other affected parties. We view the strict and careful management of customer information as a top priority and will implement additional measures for the management of customer information aimed at preventing similar incidents from occurring in the future.