Fuji's increasing U.S. activities may enhance its role in Japan. (Fuji Bank Ltd.)

NEW YORK -- Among the foreign banks operating in the United States, one of the busiest recently has been the Fuji Bank Ltd. And that growing role here may also someday help increase its already considerable position back home in Japan, where it is that nations's second largest bank.

"The Fuji organization here is in the third phase of expansion," says Takehiko itoh, director and general manager of the Fuji Bank Ltd. New York Agency. The first was providing services for Japanese firms in the United States, the second was international lending in this hemisphere, and the third is a push for corporate lending in the mid-sized U.S. market and a move into public financing.

…