Shinsei Bank, the Japan-based lender merging with rival Aozora Bank, may more than double its branch network over the next 5 years, reported Bloomber quoting Rahul Gupta, chief financial officer.
Reportedly, the bank is paring back investments in overseas securities and focusing on its domestic lending business after realizing a loss of JPY143 billion last fiscal year.
However, for the three months ended September 30, Shisei reported a net income of JPY5.9 billion and was able to increase its retail deposits by JPY534 billion to JPY5.6 trillion in the first half. Consequently, this has bolstered the bank’s liquidity.
In an interview to the news agency, Mr Gupta said that the Tokyo-based bank plans to open smaller outlets known as consulting spots, in urban areas and increase the branch network from 38 to 100. “Each consulting spot would break even in months, rather than years. If we can get to somewhere about 100, that seems an attractive number.”
