Shigemitsu
Miki, president of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, talks with
the Mitsubishi Monitor.
|
|
In
April, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi Trust Bank,
and Nippon Trust Bank established--through an exchange of
stock--a common holding company: Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial
Group. In addition, Mitsubishi Trust Bank, Nippon Trust
Bank, and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi subsidiary Tokyo
Trust Bank will merge under the aegis of Mitsubishi Trust
in October. Your management integration seems to be proceeding
smoothly.
Yes, very smoothly. I serve as president of the holding
company and my counterpart at Mitsubishi Trust Bank, Akio
Utsumi, is chairman. We've been able to keep things moving
in line with the schedule that we set for ourselves.
Actually, this has been simpler than a full
merger. A full merger would entail combining two separate
organizations, from top to bottom. In our management integration,
the commercial bank and the trust company continue to operate
separately and autonomously. They simply have a common owner
and coordinate strategy.
How would you characterize
the strengths of your new organization?
We have three compelling strengths. One is the quality of
our clientele. Like all Japanese banks, we have experienced
problems with our loan portfolio since the collapse of Japan's
economic bubble. But our problems have been less severe
and more manageable than those at our competitors.
A second core strength is our global network.
We have a more extensive international network, by far,
than any other Japanese bank.
Our third core strength is the soundness of
our balance sheet. We are the only large Japanese bank that
has been able to cope with problem loans without relying
on government assistance.
Some industry
analysts have suggested that your emphasis on mutual autonomy
is simply a transitional measure to ease the integration
process. To achieve the synergies that you envision, won't
the holding company need to exercise a tighter grip?
On the contrary, our mutual autonomy
is the key to achieving those synergies. Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi
needs to concentrate on asserting world-class capabilities
in commercial banking services for individuals and corporate
customers. Mitsubishi Trust Bank needs to focus on honing
its competitive edge in asset management and other traditional
lines of business. Only then will we have distinctive capabilities
to share with each other. |
 |
How
will you share those strengths if you are operating autonomously?
Trust services for individuals are a good example. Bank
of Tokyo-Mitsubishi deals with hundreds of thousands of
individuals daily through hundreds of branches in Japan.
Mitsubishi Trust Bank is the industry leader in trust products
for personal investment, real estate, and even personal
wills and estates. But it has only a handful of branches
nationwide. Since April, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi has begun
introducing Mitsubishi Trust Bank products to its customers.
The initial results indicate that customers like the one-stop
shopping for financial services that now is possible at
our branches.
|
What else are you
doing for individuals? How are you differentiating your
services from those of other banks?
We have launched a new service that provides benefits, including
discounted fees, for customers that maintain specified minimum
balances. That service has proved extremely popular.
Our international card, meanwhile, enables
holders to withdraw funds and conduct other transactions
at cooperating banks worldwide. And Japanese expatriates
stationed overseas can continue to manage their accounts
with us through Internet banking links.
We learn a lot through Union Bank of California
(UBOC), one of our U.S. subsidiaries. That bank is a valuable
window on trends in the world's most advanced market for
personal financial services. UBOC is our only significant
retail operation outside Japan. It has earned a solid reputation
as a successful regional bank.
A
lot of Japanese banks are scaling back or abandoning their
overseas operations. What about Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi?
Our global network,
as I have mentioned, is one of our core strengths. We will
continue to fortify that network and reinforce our identity
as a truly global financial institution.
Financial services for Japanese corporations
are the foundation of our international business portfolio.
And we are fully competitive with the biggest global institutions
in sophisticated services, such as global cash management.
A global corporation based in Japan can turn to us for world-class
services wherever it operates in the world.
What about non-Japanese
corporations?
The biggest and most sophisticated multinational
corporations have begun designating multiple "core
banks." Increasingly, that means a U.S. bank for the
Americas, a European bank for Europe, and a Japanese bank
for Asia. We are positioning ourselves the first choice
for multinational corporations in Asia. Johnson & Johnson,
for example, has selected us as its core bank in Japan.
Does all this growth
and globalization dilute your feelings of kinship with the
Mitsubishi companies?
Our feelings of kinship with the Mitsubishi
companies are the result of our shared history and common
values. History is something that we share forever, and
so are our basic values. Koyata Iwasaki, the fourth and
final president of the old Mitsubishi organization, articulated
those values more than half a century ago: social commitment,
transparency and openness in business, and global perspective.
They will continue to guide us in the 21st century. |
|
|
