Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG) history, profile and corporate video
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG; 株式会社三井住友フィナンシャルグループ) is a Japanese bank holding and financial services company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded on December 2, 2002, through a share transfer from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
The group can trace its history back more than 400 years, and it’s divided into two sides. One side involves the opening of a copper refining business in 1590 by Riemon Soga (Brother-in-law of Masatomo Sumitomo), and the establishing of the Sumitomo Bank as a private enterprise in 1895. The other side highlights the opening of the Mitsui Echigoya Kimono Dealer in 1673 by Takatoshi Mitsui, and the establishing of the Mitsui Bank as a private bank in 1876.
In 2001, the two sides came together and a new company called Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation was founded. This company will later establish Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. in 2002.
SMFG Group operates through four business segments: Retail, Wholesale, International, and Global Markets.
Retail
The Retail Business segment provides wealth management, settlement services, and consumer finance for all individual customers.
Wholesale
The Wholesale Business segment offers financing, investment management, M&A, advisory, leasing, risk hedging, and settlement services primarily for corporate clients in Japan.
International
The International Business segment supports the global businesses of a diverse range of clients, such as Japanese companies operating overseas, non-Japanese companies, financial institutions, and government agencies and public corporations of various countries.
Global Markets
The Global Markets Business segment involves foreign exchange products, derivatives, bonds, stocks, and other marketable financial products and also undertakes asset-liability management (ALM) operations.
The main companies of the group are: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, SMBC Trust Bank Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Company, Limited, SMBC NIKKO, Sumitomo Mitsui Card, Cedyna Financial Corporation, SMBC Consumer Finance Co., Ltd., The Japan Research Institute, Limited, and Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company, Limited.
With more than 72 000 employees, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is considered one of the largest banks in Japan by market capitalization and one of the top 2000 largest public companies in the world, according to Forbes.
*Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org, and www.smfg.co.jp/english.
**Video published on youtube.com by ”Passion Pictures Malaysia”.