Japan

Total headcount fell to 223,778 by end-March.

Digital innovation initiatives are gathering speed at financial institutions around the world. This was made further evident by the Celent Model Bank awards announced in April 2019. The awards recognized 22 projects from 30 countries, and all were initiatives that feature digital elements and innovation.

The average wage of 102 listed banks and insurers dropped 1.4% since 2016.

Bank of Yokohama and Chiba Bank’s agreement include retail banking, database marketing and M&As.

The first section of this two-part commentary was published here. 

Sumitomo Mitsui Trustbank received approval to operate an information bank. Japanese banks are entering a new era as they go into personal info brokering, The Asahi Shimbun reports. The government-backed Japan Federation of IT Associations has given the green light for Sumitomo Mitsui Trustbank and Felica Pocket Marketing, a subsidiary of retailer Aeon Co., to operate a data brokerage service that will allow them to establish an information bank that will buy and sell customers' personal data. Under the service, the company will receive data from customers such as their name, purchase history and health-related information, in trust. Upon customer consent, the bank will provide data to companies that are eyeing to develop new products. Similar to the bank's practice of paying interest on a deposit, customers who shared their information will be compensated with cash, coupons or bank services.

The share of real estate in total loans hit a record high 16%, thanks to regional lenders. Regional banks in Japan have been boosting their exposure to firms with higher credit risks and to the real estate sector as they battle against declines in domestic loan yields, Moody’s said in a report. As a result, regional banks have been leading systemwide loan growth, boosting loans faster than deposits. “Some regional banks' strategy is to boost what they classify as ‘middle-risk’ loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that rank on the lower end of creditworthiness,” the report said.

More than half of lenders based in Chugoku, Koshinetsu, Shikoku and Tohoku earned less revenue.

It will allow LINE Pay users to transact at over 54 million Visa merchant locations. Visa and LINE Pay will team up to create new financial services experience for their collective user bases of millions of consumers and merchants worldwide. In consumer payments area, active users of LINE will be able to apply for a digital Visa card from within the LINE app, and over time, add any of their existing Visa cards to make payments from their mobile phone. The companies will also offer users additional and enhanced experiences like integrated loyalty programmes and tailored offers and new payment capabilities for users when they travel overseas. The partnership will also allow LINE Pay users to use LINE Pay at Visa’s 54 million merchant locations. These transactions can be viewed through their LINE Pay digital wallet, even where LINE Pay is not directly accepted. Additionally, the team will develop new experiences based on blockchain that enable B2B and cross-border payments and alternative currency transactions and will partner on exclusive marketing campaigns and promotions to contribute to Japan’s acceleration towards a cashless society in the lead-up to and after the Olympic Games. The Visa co-brand programme currently serves 2.3 million customers in Taiwan, and will be launched later in 2019 in Japan.

It will be used to speed up overseas money transfers.

The sector’s return on assets hit 0.4% in H1 2018, below 1.2% in the US and over 0.8% in Australia. This chart from Moody’s Investors Service shows that although the average return on assets (ROA) of rated Japanese banks rose to around 0.4% in the first six months of 2018, the sector’s profitability remained far below that of banks in most other G7 countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada and the UK. Also read: Japanese banks hit by lower net interest income as loan demand dwindles

The move aims to cut costs and boost efficiency gains.

The banking group added forestry, palm oil and coal mining to its restricted transactions list.

Mizuho's profits plunged 83% to $877m.

Sumitomo Mitsui projects a net income decrease of 4% to $6.39b in 2019. Bloomberg reported that Japanese megabanks are bracing for another tough year ahead of weakening net income amidst the weakening economy, rising trade tensions, and the sustained monetary easing from the central bank. Also read: Japanese bank woes to persist as ultra-low rates to last until 2020 Whilst both Mizuho and MUFG are expecting profit to increase this year, to $4.3b (JPY470b) and $8.22 (JPY900b),respectively, that’s only after they booked large writedowns that hurt results in the previous period. Meanwhile, Sumitomo Mitsui sees net income slipping about 4% to $6.39b (JPY700b). Net income projections from Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and Mizuho Financial Group have all missed analysts estimates amidst rising bad loan costs and lesser gains from sales of stock holdings, which used to be its saving grace amidst rock-bottom interest rates. Also read: Japanese banks hit by lower net interest income as loan demand dwindles

In November 2018, the Japanese Bankers Association and Zengin Net launched a new platform—the so-called “more time system.” This extends the operation hours of the Zengin System, the backbone of the nation’s bank payment infrastructure, extending the service hours of financial services related to fund transfers. As a result, together the existing and new system will enable round-the-clock operations 365 days a year, making it possible to confirm the receipt of funds from other banks in real time.