banking
As Japan's largest megabank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) occupies a central position in both the domestic and global financial landscape. The company's recent disclosure of strong half-year financial results for the fiscal year ending March 2026 provides a clear window into its current operational momentum
trust bank
During the first half of fiscal year 2025 (1HFY2025), Sumitomo Mitsui TRUST delivered an exceptional financial performance, culminating in a record-high net income. This robust result was driven by the successful execution of its strategy across three core pillars: strong growth in underlying business profit, a significant positive reversal in
Weekly
Welcome to the one hundred thirty-eighth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. We are up to the neck in earnings season, and have included ten quarterly reports in this edition. Among them, Infcurion and Sony Financial (again) present their first results as a public company. We will cover the mega
life insurance
For the first half of fiscal year 2025 (FY25.1H), Sony Financial Group delivered a Group Consolidated Adjusted Net Income of ¥45.9 billion, based on IFRS Accounting Standards. This result represents a 4.8% decrease (¥2.3 billion) compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year. The
banking
Seven Bank's second quarter of fiscal year 2025 was a period of solid top-line revenue growth, which was contrasted with planned pressure on profitability driven by strategic investments in the business. The following points summarize the performance across Seven Bank's key business areas: * Financial Results: Both
artificial intelligence
MUFG Bank, a consolidated subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), has entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with OpenAI. Through this agreement, MUFG Bank will also begin initiatives to create innovative customer experiences in retail banking. Since the October 2024 announcement of an alliance, both companies have been conducting
neobank
Rakuten Bank delivered a record-setting performance for the first half of fiscal year 2025 (1H FY2025), ending September 30, 2025. Consolidated Ordinary Profit surged 55.3% year-over-year (YoY) to JPY 48.2 billion, while Net Income increased by 53.5% YoY to JPY 34.0 billion. This robust growth was
mergers & acquisitions
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) has reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in kAIgentic, a company incorporated by Mr. Mazhari, SMBC Group’s AI Transformation Advisor, in Singapore in August 2025. kAIgentic led by Mr. Mazhari builds the enterprise “Intelligence Layer” to accelerate AI transformation within the SMBC
banking
Okasan Securities has begun providing services for corporate customers through "Okasan BANK," a banking service jointly developed with GMO Aozora Net Bank. The corporate services of "Okasan BANK" offer special interest rate time deposits, free deposit functions to Okasan Securities accounts, corporate Okasan BANK cards with
Weekly
Welcome to the one hundred thirty-seventh edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. The convergence is happening. The Financial System Council Working Group on Crypto-Assets has come to the conclusion that forcing crypto investments into the Payment Services Act, and is working on an approach to migrate the relevant parts to
banking
Tokyo Star Bank and Global Trust Networks, which specializes in foreign residents and comprehensively provides services supporting life in Japan including housing, employment, telecommunications, and finance, have signed a basic agreement and commenced collaboration to realize financial services for foreign residents in Japan. The number of foreign residents in Japan
banking
SBI Holdings reported financial results for the first half of Fiscal Year 2025 (April 1, 2025 – September 30, 2025) at the end of October. Given the usual comprehensive reporting (150+ pages), the following article aims to extract the key updates. I. Consolidated Performance Overview SBI Holdings reported record-breaking performance for