The CEOs speak out: Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

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.