Latest news with #SumitomoMitsuiTrustBank
Bloomberg
09-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Mizuho Says Latest Debt Fund for Startups Raises $97 Million
Mizuho Financial Group Inc. raised ¥14.3 billion ($97 million) for its latest startup fund, as Japanese banks delve deeper into arranging credit for new ventures. The Tokyo-based lender said in a statement Wednesday that the fund, co-managed with payments startup Upsider Inc., closed with investment from seven Japanese financial institutions including Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Ltd. and Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Co.
Japan Times
04-07-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Ex-Sumitomo Mitsui Trust official guilty of insider trading
The Tokyo District Court on Friday sentenced a former employee of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank to two years in prison, suspended for four years, for engaging in insider stock trading through the abuse of tender offer information before disclosure. In his trial, presided by Judge Reiko Kaihatsu, Hajime Katayama, 55, former chief of the bank's second stock transfer agency business department, was also fined ¥2 million and ordered to pay ¥61.4 million in additional penalties for his violation of the financial instruments and exchange law. The fines were in line with the demand by public prosecutors, who had sought a two-year prison sentence. The defendant "undermined financial market fairness and soundness by taking advantage of his position for his own benefits," the judge said. "There is no room for leniency in his motive of saving ¥20 million for his post-retirement life," the judge concluded. The judge refused the defense's request for a reduction in the additional penalty. "This cannot be treated as an exceptional case, because there are no particular circumstances that need to be taken into consideration," the judge said. Meanwhile, the judge suspended the sentence since Katayama had turned himself in and showed an attitude that he was reflecting on his actions. Katayama was dismissed in November 2024 after he reported his fraudulent stock transactions to the bank in late October the same year. The defendant purchased a total of some 25,900 shares in three firms for about ¥32.1 million between December 2022 and August 2024, based on tender offer information he acquired through his work, according to the verdict.
04-07-2025
- Business
Ex-Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Official Guilty of Insider Trading
Tokyo, July 4 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo District Court on Friday sentenced a former employee of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank to two years in prison, suspended for four years, for engaging in insider stock trading through the abuse of tender offer information before disclosure. In his trial presided by judge Reiko Kaihatsu, Hajime Katayama, 55, former chief of the Japanese trust bank's second stock transfer agency business department, was also fined 2 million yen and ordered to pay 61.4 million yen in additional penalty for his violation of the financial instruments and exchange law. Public prosecutors had demanded a two-year prison sentence, a fine of 2 million yen and a 61.4-million-yen additional penalty. The defendant "undermined financial market fairness and soundness by taking advantage of his position for his own benefits," the judge said. "There is no room for leniency in his motive of saving 20 million yen for his post-retirement life," the judge concluded. The judge refused the defense side's request for a reduction in the additional penalty, saying, "This cannot be treated as an exceptional case, because there are no particular circumstances that need to be taken into consideration." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Bloomberg
04-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Said to Shut Hong Kong Branch by June 2026
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Ltd. plans to close the lender's Hong Kong branch by June 2026 and move most of its client operations to the Singapore office, according to people familiar with the matter. The Hong Kong branch — which currently handles general corporate lending, as well as shipping finance and aviation finance — faced growing competition from overseas banks in recent years, making the business environment increasingly challenging, said the people, who did not want to be named.
Japan Times
23-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Japanese companies offer gifts to boost their ranks of loyal retail investors
More Japanese companies are giving gifts at annual general meetings (AGMs) in a practice that could increase the ranks of loyal retail investors as pressure from activist investors grows. The pickup in gifts, from collectibles to food, has been steady. A survey by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank showed 11% of firms offered them at AGMs in 2024, up from 4% in 2021. Companies that gave cash vouchers to vote totaled more than 120 last year, five times the level in 2019, an industry group estimated. Companies are seeking to build shareholder support as activists inundate them with an unprecedented number of proposals. Meanwhile, the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the government have called for an improvement of valuations and cuts to close ties with other firms in the form of cross-shareholdings. "The underlying idea is to increase the number of 'fan' shareholders who will hold shares over the long term and vote favorably for management,' said Mizuki Suma, head of the legal & governance team at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank in Tokyo. "When thinking of who to attract after cross shareholders go, it would be the retail investors, the fans." Dan Castellano, a 51-year-old tech worker who has lived in Tokyo for most of his life, was disappointed when he didn't see any gifts at last month's AGM of Hub, an operator of a British style pub chain. A free T-shirt or other collectible would have been nice, he said. But Castellano said he still has ¥25,000 ($171) worth of Hub gift points that give him a strong incentive to hold its stock. The company offers the points based on the number of shares an investor holds. "I get a Hub card for free drinks, which I basically use to treat my friends and to kind of show off my shareholder status,' said Castellano, a follower of Warren Buffett's strategy of investing in understandable businesses. "I like attaching myself to the company, and being a shareholder is a way to do that.' Retail investors tend to vote in favor of the management, said Kunio Marutani, a researcher Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corporation. Some firms hope that through exercising voting rights, individual shareholders will develop a sense of participation in management and hold shares for the long term, he said. While some analysts point out that focusing on shareholder loyalty could distract management from improving corporate governance, the practice may get first-time equity holders more interested in the company's business. Takahiro Shinozaki, a 30-something construction professional who has attended dozens of AGMs in the past, said the meetings give him a chance to learn more about the companies. Shinozaki said he votes for management 90% of the time. "It's important to promote the right to participate in management decisions through the gift vouchers they provide,' said Shinozaki, who often takes a half-day off to attend AGMs. "The proportion of individual shareholders will increase more and more in the future, and retail investors will have a lot more impact.'
