Japanese bank Mizuho may have lost around $90 million in the Archegos stocks sale saga that has hit financial institutions worldwide, the Nikkei newspaper reported Thursday.

The report, which did not identify sources, came after the Financial Times said Mizuho was investigating possible exposure to the sell-off.

A fire sale late last month by Archegos Capital Management, which looks after the fortune of businessman Bill Hwang, has left global banks from Japan's Nomura to Switzerland's Credit Suisse counting losses.

Japanese bank Mizuho declined to confirm or deny the report about losses
Japanese bank Mizuho declined to confirm or deny the report about losses AFP / Behrouz MEHRI

Among the companies sold were top Chinese names such as Baidu Inc, Tencent Music Entertainment Group and Vipshop Holdings -- all under pressure at home as Beijing reins in the tech sector -- plus US giants such as ViacomCBS and Discovery.

Mizuho's reported losses are far smaller than those incurred by some institutions, with Nomura warning of up to $2 billion in exposure.

Contacted by AFP, Mizuho declined to confirm or deny the report, with an official saying "we don't comment on individual deals".