Meeting Local Financing Needs

Deposits and Loans

The Bank operates mainly in Wakayama and Osaka prefectures, with 67 branches in Wakayama, 34 branches in Osaka and two branches in the adjacent Nara Prefecture.
    In Wakayama Prefecture, the Bank commands the largest market share for both deposits and loans, and it recognizes that, as the leading bank in the region, its role for the development of the community is more important than ever before.

Lending to Small and Medium-sized Businesses and Private Customers

During the reporting term, the Bank once again succeeded in increasing the balance of loans to small and medium-sized businesses and private customers in Wakayama and Osaka prefectures thanks to steps taken to enhance relationship banking in which the number of marketing staff was increased and new marketing offices were opened.
    The outstanding term-end balance of loans extended to small and medium-sized businesses and private customers in the region amounted to ¥1,719.3 billion, 76% of the total loan balance of ¥2,272.5 billion. This was an increase of ¥96.1 billion over the previous term.

Initiatives for the Invigoration of the Regional Economy

Management Advice and Consulting
The Group leverages its capabilities in management consulting and information provision to assist customers in starting up new businesses, developing new business lines, expanding the total scale of their business, handling business succession issues, and many other management needs.
    Using its network of industry, government partners and university, the Group also provides its customers with support for new business startups and expansion into new business areas.

Helping Companies Find the Right Partner
We leverage the Group’s extensive network of business contacts to assist companies in finding the right partners for trading or joint projects, thereby helping revitalize the regional economy. As part of these efforts, we make recommendations to local companies in the foodstuffs sector to join Shokuzai Koshien, which is an online marketplace for business where the participants are listed according to prefecture, making it easy to discover promising business partners in the same region. This enables our customers to expand their marketing channels and contributes to corporate growth and the invigoration of the regional economy.

Support for Management Improvement
The Bank’s head office and branch staff collaborate closely to offer proposals for management improvement plans to our corporate customers. Through extensive liaison with the customer, our staff design the ideal plan for each customer to improve their financial position and realize more efficient business operations.
    Through collaboration with external and government affiliated organizations such as the SME Revitalization Support Council and Resolution and Collection Corporation, Kiyo Bank helps corporate customers select the funding method most appropriate to their circumstances. These methods include the use of the Kuroshio Corporate Support Fund, in which the Bank holds an equity stake. This is one of the ways in which Kiyo Bank works to effect a radical reorganization of customer enterprises to achieve full-fledged revitalization.
    Thanks to the use of these initiatives, the Bank was able to upgrade the borrower categories of 35 companies during fiscal 2007.

Smooth Funding
We have recently opened four Business Support Centers at our head office, Tanabe, Kishiwada, and Sakai. These are new-type dedicated loan-provision offices whose staff deal by telephone and fax with loan-related queries and requests from SMEs and sole proprietors. The Bank will continue to diversify its funding methods for corporate customers with the goal of ensuring the smooth provision of needed funds.

Making Our Services More Convenient and More Secure

Internet Branch
In June 2007 we opened an “online branch” within our website. Although new account applications must be sent by conventional mail, customers who already have accounts with us can now make a term deposit application online 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, eliminating the need to visit their local branch. We also offer special term deposits available only via the online branch. In this way, we are able to accept deposits from customers both inside and outside the areas served by our brick-and-mortar branches. To ensure strict security we employ a one-time password system and other anti-crime measures.

Biometric IC Bank Card
To prevent unauthorized withdrawals using counterfeit or stolen bank cards, the Bank launched a biometric IC bank card employing finger vein authentication in March 2007. This accurate personal identification system provides a high level of security for cash withdrawals from our ATMs.