3 Northeastern Japan Banks to Launch Talks to Combine Operations

Morioka, Iwate Pref., Oct. 2 (Jiji Press)--Procrea Holdings Inc., Bank of Iwate and Akita Bank, regional lenders in northeastern Japan, said Friday that they will launch talks to combine their operations in April 2028, a deal that would create a regional banking group ranked around 10th in the country.

Procrea, the parent of Aomori Michinoku Bank, Bank of Iwate and Akita Bank aim to expand their operations across prefectural borders to strengthen their business foundations as they struggle with a shrinking market due to a declining population.

They plan to integrate their operations under a holding company that is expected to be based in Morioka, the capital of Iwate Prefecture.

As of the end of March this year, Procrea in Aomori Prefecture had 5,845.4 billion yen in assets, Bank of Iwate in Iwate Prefecture 3,913.7 billion yen and Akita Bank in Akita Prefecture 3,576.8 billion yen.

At a joint press conference in Morioka, Bank of Iwate President Toru Iwayama said that they plan to combine operations as banks face "more diverse and complex" challenges including the spread of artificial intelligence.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]