Hokuto Bank

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Hokuto Bank head office

The Hokuto Bank (株式会社北都銀行, Kabushiki Kaisha Hokuto Ginkō^?) is a Japanese bank that is headquartered in Akita, Akita prefecture. The bulk of the bank’s business is in Akita prefecture, although it does operate branches in regional cities such as Morioka and Sendai, as well as a branch in Tokyo. The bank’s largest stakeholder is the Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd..

[edit] Profile

As of March 31, 2004

Assets: Approximately 1 trillion yen (approximately USD 9.1 billion)

Employees: 1,177

Branches: 86 (85 branches, one representative office)

President: Takeo Kagaya

Member: Regional Banks Association of Japan

[edit] History

The forerunner to the Hokuto Bank was the Masuda Bank, established in Akita prefecture in 1895. Although the Masuda Bank merged with several other banks throughout the first half of the 1900s, it changed its name to its present form in 1993 when it merged with the Akita Akebo Bank. At the time of the merger, the name Komachi Bank was floated as a possible name, but was ultimately turned down in favor of the current form. The bank has gradually diversified its range of financial services, and began to offer insurance in 2002. Recently, the Hokuto bank has been involved in scandals, including embezzlement charges. This prompted the Japanese Financial Services Agency to request a plan to improve its governance. As a result, the Hokuto Bank has launched a seires of initiatives, entitled Believe and, more recently, Breakthrough, to improve its governance.