On March 3, a face-to-face entrance ceremony was held at a major bank for the first time in four years, and the new employees gathered to receive instructions.
The entrance ceremony held at SMBC's head office in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, was attended by more than 360 bank employees who have been working since this spring.
This was the first face-to-face entrance ceremony in four years, and the two new members of the delegation were handed over their resignations.
Next, President Akira Fukudome said, "The environment surrounding us is changing drastically, such as economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, global inflation, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and it will become increasingly important for diverse employees to move in the same direction based on a philosophy that is a common axis."
Ms. Goori Kurosawa, a new employee, said happily, "I was worried because I couldn't lead the student life I wanted due to the Corona disaster, but now I can do what I want to do, so I feel that my time so far has not been wasted."
In addition, in order to respond to record high prices and fierce competition for human resources in the digital field, the bank has raised the starting salary by 4,5 yen across the board from new graduates starting in April.
Regarding this, Mr. Ryo Matsumoto, a new employee of the bank, said, "I think the increase in starting salary is a sign of the magnitude of expectations, and I will do my best to meet those expectations."