Can Japan’s megabanks ignore the devil's whisper
The CEOs speak out: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
The CEOs speak out: Mizuho Corporate Bank
Teisuke Kitayama is in his third year as president of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group. The firm is unique among the megabanks in that it does not outright own a major securities subsidiary: instead there is a joint venture with Daiwa Securities SMBC, a dominant force in domestic equities behind the independent powerhouse Nomura. Here he speaks to Lawrence White about the problems of the past, expanding overseas and benchmarking the Japanese banks.
The key thing the US and European banks can learn from the Japanese crisis is the value of quick action.