Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (8411.TO) said Friday it has decided to set up a special purpose subsidiary in the Cayman Islands to issue dollar-denominated, noncumulative, perpetual preferred securities.

The amount and dividend yields have yet to be decided, the bank said. Merrill Lynch, Mizuho and UBS are leading the deal and are expected to begin marketing it to investors next week, one person familiar with the deal said.

Japan's major banks have been forced to raise money to maintain their capital bases, and to make up for valuation losses on securities.

Last week, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (8306.TO) also said it has decided to set up a special purpose subsidiary in the Cayman Islands to issue more non-dilutive preferred shares.

-By Atsuko Fukase, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-5255-2957; atsuko.fukase@dowjones.com

(Kate Haywood and Kellie Geressy contributed to this report).