Shinsei, Aozora to announce merger Wed -sources

TOKYO, June 30 (Reuters) - Japan's Shinsei Bank (8303.T) and Aozora Bank (8304.T), two loss-making lenders backed by U.S. investors, are likely to announce on Wednesday plans to merge by next year, sources familiar with the matter said.

The banks are likely to merge by the autumn of 2010, said the sources, who declined to be identified because the information is not yet public.

Separately, the Nikkei newspaper reported that Norito Ikeda, former president of Japanese regional lender Ashikaga Bank, will take the helm of the merged entity.

The merger ratio is likely to be set at one-to-one, the paper said, without saying where it got the information. (Reporting by Taro Fuse)