TORONTO, July 25, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MUFG Bank has announced that Craig Gardner has been appointed President of its Canadian branch effective July 1, 2018. Mr. Gardner is the first local executive to hold this position and the appointment represents a significant departure from MUFG Bank’s tradition of appointing Japanese executives from its parent company to head the Canadian operations.

With this appointment, Mr. Gardner replaces Hiromichi Matsui, who was President of MUFG Bank Canada for two years and has returned to Tokyo to take on a new assignment.

Mr. Gardner has been with the bank since 2015 and, previous to this appointment, was Managing Director and Head of Canadian Corporate Banking. 

Prior to joining MUFG, Mr. Gardner spent 14 years at RBC Capital Markets and has a wealth of experience in originating, structuring and executing financings in both the investment grade and non-investment grade markets in Canada and cross-border.  He has a Master of Business Administration degree from Dalhousie University and an Honours B.A., History from Western University.

About MUFG Bank Canada
MUFG Bank Canada has been providing global banking solutions in Canada for more than 60 years. Based in Toronto, with offices in Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver, MUFG Bank Canada is the country’s largest Asia-based bank. Along with its affiliates, the bank offers Canadian and international clients a full range of wholesale corporate banking services in areas such as project finance, syndicated loans, securitization, foreign exchange and cash management.  Its financial expertise serves clients in a number of industries including oil and gas, automotive, mining, pipelines, power and utilities, telecom and media, and food and beverage.

About MUFG
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) is one of the world’s leading financial groups. Headquartered in Tokyo and with over 360 years of history, MUFG has a global network with over 1,800 locations in more than 50 countries. The Group has over 150,000 employees and offers services including commercial banking, trust banking, securities, credit cards, consumer finance, asset management, and leasing. The Group aims to “be the world’s most trusted financial group” through close collaboration among our operating companies and flexibly respond to all of the financial needs of our customers, serving society, and fostering shared and sustainable growth for a better world. MUFG’s shares trade on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and New York stock exchanges.  For more information, visit https://www.mufg.jp/english

On April 1, 2018 the name of MUFG’s commercial bank changed from “The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.” to “MUFG Bank, Ltd.” Many of the bank’s overseas subsidiaries followed suit on the same day, but branches and subsidiaries in some countries will carry out the name change at a later date. MUFG’s New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol also changed to “MUFG.” For more information regarding overseas subsidiaries, visit
http://www.bk.mufg.jp/global/newsroom/announcements/pdf/201803_namechange.pdf

Press Contact:
Maura Drew-Lytle
MUFG Bank Ltd., Canada Branch           
T (647) 621-7408
E mdrew-lytle@ca.mufg.jp

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b3ac0888-dffa-4542-a6b8-780ba4711048