(Bloomberg) — Norinchukin Bank’s chief executive officer said its expected losses may still change after the firm earlier this week warned they may swell to 1.5 trillion yen ($9.5 billion), triple an estimate made about a month ago.

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Asked whether the bank’s expected losses may exceed that number, CEO Kazuto Oku said “it depends on the financial environment,” in comments to reporters after the bank’s annual general meeting. A spokesperson for the bank said the management team was re-elected at the AGM.

“I apologized to members for the trouble and concern we have caused,” Oku said. “I have explained that the way I should take responsibility for this is to fulfill my duty to get us firmly through this situation.”

Japan’s biggest agricultural bank surprised the market this week by saying it would sell $63 billion of low-yielding US and European government bonds that had become unprofitable to hold after the firm’s shorter-term funding costs jumped.

Norinchukin has become one of the biggest casualties of higher-for-longer borrowing costs. The bank is now overhauling its portfolio, selling off a third of its sovereign holdings and shifting to other types of assets, including collateralized loan obligations and domestic and overseas bonds.

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