TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's Mizuho Financial Group said Friday it would sell new shares worth more than six billion dollars to bolster its finances, as it reported a big loss because of the financial crisis.

Japan's top banks were initially seen as relatively immune to a US-born credit crunch, but they have been badly burned by the financial crisis because they have a large exposure to the stock market.

Mizuho said it would sell new shares worth up to 600 billion yen (S$9.1 billion) to help it through the financial turmoil. It also plans to sell preferred securities although the exact amount has not been decided.

It announced a net loss of 588.8 billion yen for the year to March, in line with an initial estimate last month, against a year-earlier profit of 311.22 billion.

Mizuho expects to return to the black this year with a net profit of 200 billion yen.