Marketing Systems To prepare for our evolution into a comprehensive financial services enterprise, we expanded the headquarters-based functions of the Pyxis Consulting Service Office (support for corporate expansion), the Management Support Office (support for better management support) and the Business Support Center (financing for small businesses). Getting back to service-industry basics, we strengthened marketing functions at the head office and the local branches, where we have direct contact with the customer.     In business with individual customers, we continued to work to increase assets under custody and promote housing loans. With regard to building up our assets under custody, we achieved a 134% year-on-year increase in sales of investment trusts to ¥71.5 billion, as well as large increases in sales of products such as personal pension insurance plans and government bonds. The balance of outstanding housing loans also continued to grow.     With regard to our branch network, the Kiyo Higashi-Wakayama Building in JR Wakayama station square was completed in September 2004, and we reopened the Higashi-Wakayama branch after refurbishment. It now functions as a core branch, able to offer integrated financial services.

This office building houses Kiyo Plaza, a customer consultation space focusing on asset management, and various facilities available even on non-working days with foreign exchange machines and fully automated safe-deposit boxes. To achieve an optimal deployment of personnel, we have also integrated two branches in Wakayama City into one in the fiscal year under review, completing our initial branch-rationalization plan. We also enhanced the positioning of ATMs placed outside branches.

Financial Services
In financial services, we worked to provide a fuller range of corporate funding products to meet diversifying customer needs and provide greater ease of use. In addition to financing, we helped SMEs address diversifying fund procurement options. To enhance customer convenience, we launched an ATM alliance with Lawson, Inc., a major convenience store operator, following the establishment of an alliance with the post office, enabling postal savings and the Bank account holders to use each others’ ATMs, and cash card alliances with credit firms. Such measures have enabled the cash card holders of the Bank to make withdrawals, deposits and remittances at any Lawson store around Japan via ATMs.
    While we expanded our lineup of investment trust and personal pension insurance products, we also established settlement accounts to be covered by the guarantee system ahead of removal of the full deposit guarantee.
    We hope we can continue to offer our customers convenient services and steadily improve in our efforts to meet their expectations.