- Business
- Juroku Financial Group, Inc. (7380.T) operates as a regional comprehensive financial services holding company primarily engaged in banking and leasing activities through its subsidiaries in Japan. The group, headquartered in Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture, traces its origins to The Juroku Bank, Ltd., founded in 1877, and transitioned to a holding company structure in October 2021 to expand its business domains and enhance group-wide governance. It serves retail and corporate customers across the Chubu region, particularly Gifu and surrounding areas, through a network of approximately 149 branches, 12 sub-branches, and specialized offices, offering deposit-taking, lending, securities trading and investment, domestic and foreign exchange, bond management, derivatives, leasing services, credit cards, credit guarantees, business consulting, survey and research, financial instruments intermediation, payments and digital solutions, and management succession/M&A advisory; insurance products include medical/cancer, long-term care, personal pension, whole life, pet, internet, educational, endowment, fire, and unemployment coverage; additional services encompass safe deposit boxes, investment trusts, clerical work, and equity capital funds such as Juroku Equity Loan.
Recent strategic developments include a February 2024 alliance with Resona Holdings, Inc. for retail banking collaboration, encompassing real-world initiatives like business succession/M&A support, syndicated loans, overseas expansion, sustainable finance, corporate pensions, real estate utilization, inheritance services, asset formation, and fund wraps, alongside digital enhancements via banking apps, digital marketing for SMEs and retail clients, operational streamlining, and joint human resource training. In July 2023, the group established NOBUNAGA Succession Inc., a joint venture with Nihon M&A Center Holdings Inc., to address management succession needs among regional SMEs amid Gifu's accelerating population decline and aging. Further alliances feature collaborations with SoftBank for DX initiatives, including Google Workspace rollout across group companies in 2023-2024 and employee dispatch to STATION Ai incubator; partnerships with Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings for securities and Densan System Holdings for digital services; and ongoing share buybacks, with completion of a 478,400-share repurchase for 2.999 billion yen in 2025 and a new program announced recently to boost growth and capital efficiency. The group plans a new headquarters, "16FG Office & Park," for its 150th anniversary in 2027, alongside cross-shareholding reductions targeting under 20% of net assets by March 2025 (achieved at 18.7%) and under 15% by 2028, reflecting disciplined capital management amid positive interest rates and ROE goals above 5%.