Mizuho Bank President Satoru Nishibori indicated at a press conference that the system Halted

TOKYO � The computer system of Mizuho Bank malfunctioned Thursday for the third straight day, halting almost all deals through automated teller machines at its 440 branches nationwide and online, the key arm of Mizuho Financial Group Inc said. Mizuho Bank President Satoru Nishibori indicated at a press conference that the system problem could cause a delay to branch windows opening Friday as well.

The paralysis was alleviated shortly after 11:30 a.m. except for transactions involving foreign-currency deposits, the bank said.

While a bank official said the malfunction ��appears to have nothing to do�� with the mega earthquake that struck northeastern and eastern Japan, the problem added to the quake-related disruption.

The bank said it could not boot up the computer system at 9 a.m. opening time, leaving only balance inquiries available. It accepted customers� withdrawal requests at branch counters.

Nishibori apologized for the continuing troubles, telling a press conference Thursday afternoon, ��I offer my sincere apologies for this serious troubles.��

Similar large-scale system disorders also took place at the bank on Tuesday and Wednesday, delaying the processing of some 440,000 remittance transactions worth a combined 570 billion yen.