In Japan, cash accounts for about 40 per cent of all transaction value, around double that of regional peers. That reflects the country’s relative late start in financial digitisation. At the same time, its banking sector is structurally overbuilt, crowded with regional lenders in a growth constrained economy. Yet even in this saturated market, a new entrant should not be dismissed.
Japan’s big three megabanks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho, already dominate the local sector. Now, SBI Shinsei Bank, which delisted in September 2023 following its takeover by SBI Holdings, is positioning itself as a potential fourth, with plans to relist in Tokyo.
The bank was rescued in the aftermath of Japan’s financial crisis and became one of the country’s most high-profile foreign investment stories, after US private equity firm JC Flowers backed its 2000 acquisition from the government. It is targeting a valuation of more than ¥1.5tn, which would make it one of Japan’s largest IPOs this year. Still, that would place it far below the megabanks, with total assets just a fraction of the country’s largest MUFG.