Support the growth of local industries / Initiatives for regional revitalization

Expanding provision of funds for growth through investment subsidiaries and venture debt, and other channels.

We are engaged in investments for startup companies through funds managed by our investment subsidiaries (Joyo Capital Partners and Wing Capital Partners) with the goal of exploring partnerships aimed at expanding our business areas.
Joyo Bank established the Start-ups Finance Group in April 2025 as part of its venture debt initiatives.

Collaboration with the investees

(Investment execution in October 2022)	Digital Securities Co., Ltd., which aims to build a marketplace utilizing blockchain technology, was registered as a financial instruments business operator in May 2025 and began its business primarily as a securities company. It is considering new funding methods and cooperation in providing financial products.
(Investment execution in November 2023)	We are pursuing an initiative to improve local customer sales capacity and productivity through DX and ICT integration in partnership with Caters Inc., which possesses system development capacity and digital technology.
(Investment execution in July 2024)	In cooperation with KOMPEITO Inc., which provides OFFICE DE YASAI (“vegetables in offices”), a food welfare service that improves the office dining environment, we support the welfare of our business partners through the “Benefit Support” JOYO welfare service.

Initiatives to solve social issues through open innovation

＜New business co-creation program “Nexus Bridge2024”＞

Since fiscal 2022, Joyo Bank has invited business ideas and collaborative partners from start-ups, etc., and held a co-creation program that aims to create new businesses through open innovation.
In FY2024, we launched “Nexus Bridge2024” and thus expanded the framework of collaborative partners to include operating companies, and solicited applications on the theme of solving social issues in the fields of “Decarbonization,” “DX,” “Life Planning,” and “Regional Revitalization.” As a result, we received entries from 65 companies, from which we selected four as candidates for collaborative partners and started demonstration tests and examinations to create new businesses and services.

Establishment of an effective and efficient escorted support system for business operators

【Business support consulting】

In response to various management issues faced by our customers, we provide consulting for business support, including IT digitalization for operational efficiency and formulation of medium- to long-term management strategies. In the process of providing support, we provide one-stop service from “analyzing the current situation” to “identifying issues” and to “providing support for implementation,” with experts from various fields working together to deliver high-quality escorted service.

Business planning support (Bank total)

＜Initiatives to expand business scope going forward＞

We provide consulting services for business support through daily collaboration between the head office and staff of the branches. To provide high-quality support, each bank employee’s skills must be improved. Joyo Bank utilizes the trainee system inside and outside the Bank and implements study meetings and on-the-job training within the Bank. It is also working on the development of tools, training, and on-the-job training to enable branch offices to provide support on their own for specialized support (such as the formulation of medium-term management plans) that is currently provided by the head office. Ashikaga Bank has assigned “Solution Leaders” to lead the consulting services for corporate customers at all branches. Solution Leaders undergo regular training to acquire knowledge and skills to respond to customers’ consulting needs.

Image of initiatives to solve issues

＜Business matching initiatives＞

Through escorted consulting, we help visualize customer issues and needs, and provide optimal solutions. In these efforts, we help customers solve their issues by combining the know-how of business matching partners even in cases where it is difficult for the Group alone to solve them.

Business matching (Bank total)

Meeting multimodal financing needs (such as leasing, etc.)

＜Support for energy conservation and decarbonization in local communities (Mebuki Lease)＞

Mebuki Lease contributes to the creation of a sustainable society as a member of the Group by establishing a KPI for the amount of new contracts for equipment that contributes to energy conservation and decarbonization^※, thus supporting initiatives for decarbonization toward carbon neutrality.

※ Equipment that contributes to energy conservation and decarbonization refers to LED, vehicles (EV, FCV, HV, PHV, PHEV), storage batteries, air conditioning equipment, and refrigeration and freezing equipment.

Status of new contracts for equipment that contributes to energy conservation and decarbonization

Sustainable finance initiatives

＜Financing support for realization of a sustainable society＞

In its ESG finance initiatives, Joyo Bank provides various product line-ups, including sustainability-linked loans, to meet customer needs. Such support plays an important role in building sustainable business models in the areas of environment (E), society (S), and governance (G) in the region. We will continue to contribute to realization of a sustainable society through ESG finance.
For details of our initiatives for sustainable finance, please refer to here.

Expanding sales channels through cross-regional business matching

＜Creating opportunities for business matching＞

Expanding sales channels through advertising and regional trading businesses

＜Expanding support for regional businesses through Colletochi, Ltd. (local trading company)＞

Colletochi, Ltd. discovers, develops, and expands sales channels for attractive local products and services. They contribute to revitalizing local industries by creating regional attractions and widely promoting them.

【Case studies of sales channel development】

We introduce local products made by companies in Tochigi Prefecture to luxury hotels in the prefecture. Doburoku (a traditional Japanese sake) ice cream, manufactured and sold by the Utsunomiya University venture Ferment Bese, and Miyayubeshi (a type of mochi confectionery) from Tokoi Yuzu Orchard (Utsunomiya City) were served as desserts for dinner courses at a local luxury hotel.
Our goal is to expand sales channels for local products and enhance their brand power by securing placements in luxury hotels frequented by discerning guests who appreciate local products and the stories underlying their development.

Initiatives to support global business

The Group provides meticulous support to cater to its corporate customers’ needs such as global business and expansion. Specifically, the Group holds seminars on global business and uses the overseas representative offices of the two banking subsidiaries, the financial institutions of its overseas business partners, and other related institutions and business alliance partners at home and abroad to provide local information and assistance in visiting countries, developing global sales channels, conducting trade transactions, etc.

Details of main support

Provision of local information and research	Provide local information about the investment environment, local needs, taxation, infrastructure, logistics routes, employment environment, regulations, offices, industrial parks, etc. Regularly send reports prepared by our local representatives Research import regulations of countries, local markets, local competitors, buyers, etc.
Use of partner banks	Help open an account, handle various financial services, overseas remittance, etc.
Introduction of business partners and specialized institutions	Introduce business partners (e.g., local financial institutions, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance [NEXI], insurance companies), local accounting and law firms (accountants and attorneys at law), local real estate companies, local temporary staffing agencies, etc.
Funding support	Offer cross-border loans, standby letters of credit, parent-subsidiary loans, etc.
Other support	Hold business conferences, seminars, and business networking meetings Provide various support in cooperation with Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and local governments such as Ibaraki Prefecture and Tochigi Prefecture Introduce distributors and suppliers on an individual basis, M&A candidates, local buyers, and local import agencies, and provide assistance in developing cross-border e-commerce platforms, among others

＜Overseas network of Mebuki Financial Group＞

We are expanding our overseas network mainly in East and Southeast Asia in which more than 80% of the Group’s corporate customers doing business abroad are accounted for. We are also assisting our corporate customers with global expansion in cooperation with JETRO, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Country and region	Major business partners
China	Bank of China
	Bank of Communications
Taiwan	CTBC Bank
Thailand	Kasikorn Bank
	Bangkok Bank
Indonesia	Bank Negara Indonesia
	Bank CIMB Niaga
Vietnam	VietinBank
	Vietcombank
	Foreign Investment Agency of Vietnam
Philippines	BDO Unibank
	Metrobank
India	State Bank of India
Mexico	Banamex
	Aguascalientes State Government, Jalisco State Government, etc.

Establishment and provision of one stop services for human resources (such as securing, retention, and development of human resources, DE&I support)

＜One-stop solutions for human resource needs＞

Given the current situation where securing human resources is increasingly difficult, we are enhancing our consulting functions to address various human resource needs, including personnel introduction. Based on the concept of human capital management, we visualize the status of our customers’ initiatives, accurately identifying their true human resources needs. These include appropriate personnel introduction, training, and human resources consulting. We provide one-stop solutions tailored to their needs at each stage from personnel recruitment and development to retention and retirement.

Personnel introduction (Bank total)

※Business matching in the human resources field, including part-time and side-job placement services, as well as recruitment tools for high school graduates.

Supporting sustainable corporate management that overcomes changes in the business environment

Local SMEs face a wide range of challenges from rapid changes in the external environment such as high inflation and rising interest rates to chronic labor shortages resulting from factors such as a decline in the working-age population and the concentration of workers in large cities. To overcome these challenges and continue to exist as an indispensable presence in the region, they need to take measures from a multifaceted perspective, including reviewing management strategies, improving productivity through digitalization, developing human resources, and diversifying funding sources.
Joyo Bank and Ashikaga Bank provide escorted support to corporate customers according to their circumstances. For example, the banks provide not only cash flow management support but also assistance in formulating business improvement plans and improving financial conditions in cooperation with the head office and branches, external expert teams, government-owned financial institutions, etc. The banks also follow up on the progress of the business improvement plans and provide long-term support for improving business in order for corporate customers to better manage their business.
We also consider it important to begin initiatives at an early stage to improve the management of our business partners. Accordingly, we take initiatives that are one step ahead, such as identifying management issues and proposing solutions to solve issues.

Customers for which business improvement plans were formulated (Bank total), which are managed by head office

Number of lenders with improved credit (Bank total), which are managed by head office

Enhancement of support and menus to support the selection and implementation of appropriate means of succession

＜Selection and implementation of appropriate means of succession, and support for training of successors＞

Successful business succession fosters the sustainable growth of companies and supports the stability of the regional economy. We engage in dialogue with our customers to develop optimal business succession plans tailored to specific issues and needs, and to support their implementation. We provide successors and young corporate managers with essential management knowledge, opportunities to build personal networks through cross-industry exchanges, and various management support services. These efforts aim to develop successors equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to become the next generation of effective leaders.

＜Provision of total solutions, including succession of personal assets of corporate owners＞

The succession of personal assets of corporate owners is also an important part of business succession. We consider business assets and personal assets comprehensively, and provide comprehensive solutions tailored to customers’ needs, including inheritance and gifts, utilization of trusts, and advice on asset management. We also support both companies and owners, in cooperation with experts in tax and legal affairs, in building a stable future by developing a system to pass on assets to the next generation while minimizing risks.

＜Assignment of marriage advisers＞

As part of its support for the business succession of its customer companies, Ashikaga Bank has assigned marriage advisers to its head office, and provides marriage support services for corporate managers and successors. The bank supports the sustainable growth of its customer companies by providing escorted support in marriage, for example by increasing motivation toward marriage and encouraging marriage hunting.

Strengthening efforts towards strategic M&A that contributes to the growth of local businesses

＜Continuing and strengthening intermediary M&A＞

As the importance of M&A increases as a means of smooth business succession and corporate growth, we have been providing M&A support as intermediary M&A mainly to companies that are struggling with successor issues. In recent years, as part of strategic M&A efforts, we have been engaging with companies aligned with the strategies of core regional companies. We are also enhancing initiatives that support these core companies in expanding business domains, securing human resources, and improving productivity.

M&A (bank total)