Sept 19 (Reuters) - Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking

Corp, the banking arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group ( SMFG )

, will invest a further 135 billion yen ($912.84

million) in U.S. investment bank Jefferies, the

companies said in a statement on Friday.

The investment will take SMBC's stake to 20% from 14.5%, and

the two companies will also set up a joint venture in Japan to

consolidate their wholesale Japanese equities businesses, the

statement said.

SMBC will provide Jefferies with about $2.5 billion of new

credit facilities, the statement added.

SMFG, Japan's second largest banking group, started working

with Jefferies in 2021 on cross-border mergers and acquisitions

and leveraged finance. It first took a stake in 2023, and has

since raised it multiple times.