TOKYO, April 25 Reuters Mizuho Financial Group plans to beef up its U.S. operations for MA advisory and equity underwriting, its chief executive said, as Japan39;s No. 3 lender aims to grab a bigger share of the world39;s largest investment banking fee pool.

The latest U.S. drive comes after Mizuho in recent years bolstered its debt underwriting capabilities there following the 2015 acquisition of Royal Bank of Scotland39;s North American corporate loan portfolio. 

Yet to be fully tapped by Mizuho in U.S. investment banking are MA advisory and equity underwriting, Masahiro Kihara told Reuters in an interview. We are now compiling our strategy and analysing to what extent we can grow organically, he said.

The internal discussions include which industry sectors to focus, how to extend analyst coverage and how to build collaboration with its sales and trading teams, he said, declining to give further details.

Struggling with ultralow interest rates at home, Japanese banks have been exploring growth opportunities outside Japan, with Mizuho focusing on the United States as well as Asia.

The U.S. fee pool from MA advisory and socalled equity capital markets ECM, where banks help companies raise equity capital, totalled 42.8 billion last year, according to Dealogic.

Kihara took the helm of Mizuho in February after a series of electronic system failures at the main banking unit prompted a reshuffle of top management.

Mizuho is one of the biggest lenders to SoftBank Group…