SBI Resumes Regional Bank Partnerships, To Acquire up to 3% of Tohoku Bank
SBI Holdings has concluded a “Strategic Capital and Business Alliance Agreement” with TOHOKU BANK. Having completed the repayment of public funds for SBI Shinsei Bank, the group is now free to resume its regional banking rollup strategy in order to create the "fourth mega bank".
Purpose of the Alliance
SBI Group has identified “contribution to regional revitalization through the invigoration of regional communities based on collaborative creation with regional financial institutions” as one of its social responsibilities, and is forming alliances with regional financial institutions with the goal of contributing to regional revitalization through the invigoration of regional economies, including supporting initiatives to help local customers build assets and local enterprises improve their productivity, expand their sales channels and increase their earnings.
Based on this business policy, SBI Group and the TOHOKU BANK have been cooperating on various initiatives, such as financial instruments intermediary service with SBI SECURITIES, a consolidated subsidiary of SBI Holdings.
However, in order to support TOHOKU BANK’s initiatives to further strengthen its management base and enhance its services, and to contribute to the revitalization of regional economies, the Company and the TOHOKU BANK have concluded the “Strategic Capital and Business Alliance Agreement.”
SBI Group and the TOHOKU BANK will promote open innovation by strengthening cooperation through the strategic capital and business alliance, while respecting the independence of both companies’ management, and contribute to regional revitalization and the realization of a sustainable society by supporting productivity enhancement of local companies and asset formation of regional customers.
Details of the Business Alliance
- Provision of a wide range of financial products and services provided by SBI Group to the TOHOKU BANK customers such as through financial instruments intermediary service with SBI SECURITIES and joint store operations with SBI MONEYPLAZA
- Entrusting a portion of TOHOKU BANK’s assets under management to SBI Group for the purpose of strengthening TOHOKU BANK’s profitability through diversification and enhancement of securities management
- Supporting TOHOKU BANK’s digital transformation (DX) by providing cutting-edge technology and expertise from SBI Group’s portfolio companies to contribute to the business development and transformation of local companies
- Promotion of TOHOKU BANK’s DX initiatives, such as smartphone apps
- Establishment of a joint fund to support local businesses through the provision of capital funds and capital loans, to enhance the financial intermediary functions of SBI Group and the TOHOKU BANK
- Other initiatives that contribute to the establishment of a sustainable business model for the TOHOKU BANK and that are agreed upon by both parties
Details of the Capital Alliance
SBI Regional Bank Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of SBI Holdings, plans to acquire up to 2.95% of the total issued shares of TOHOKU BANK (excluding treasury shares, shares less than one unit, and other shares without voting rights) as of the end of March 2025. TOHOKU BANK plans to acquire up to JPY 100m worth of SBI Holdings' issued common shares.
Note that both companies have not yet determined the timing or method of acquiring the other party’s shares currently. However, SBI Holdings does not plan to issue new shares through a third-party allotment or other means in connection with this transaction.
Norbert Gehrke
