Fukuoka Financial Group, one of the largest regional banking groups in Japan, will establish the first Internet-only bank as a regional bank, and the Financial Services Agency issued a banking license on the 22nd.
The license was issued by the Internet-only bank "Minna no Bank".
The "Fukuoka Financial Group," which owns the Bank of Fukuoka, was established as the first regional bank in Japan, and on the 22nd, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance handed a banking license to the new bank, Koji Yokota.
The bank plans to start its business in earnest from May next year at the earliest, and expects that the number of customers visiting the bank counter will decrease, especially among the younger generation, and will provide services such as loans and payments through smartphones.
In addition to ultra-low interest rates, the business environment of regional banks is becoming more difficult due to the effects of the new coronavirus, and the Fukuoka Financial Group has drastically reviewed its conventional business model to provide financial services using digital technology. We want to grow this into a new pillar of earnings, and there is a possibility that similar movements will spread to other regional banks in the future.