INTERVIEW: S’tomo Mitsui May Hit 2-T.-Yen Net Profit Earlier

Tokyo, Dec. 18 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. may post a consolidated net profit of 2 trillion yen earlier than the currently expected period of around 2030, President Toru Nakashima has said. On the back of brisk domestic business, the megabank group “cannot deny the possibility of achieving 2 trillion yen” in net profit during the three years from fiscal 2026, which will be covered by the next medium-term business plan, Nakashima said in a recent interview. The new plan will include a target of expanding information technology investment, including in the area of artificial intelligence, to around 1 trillion yen, up from some 800 billion projected under the current three-year plan through fiscal 2025. “We must substantially increase” IT investment for further utilization of AI and an update of the group’s core system, he stressed. The financial giant expects a record net profit 1.5 trillion yen for fiscal 2025 ending in March 2026. Helped by a rise in interest rates and growing corporate demand for funds, Sumitomo Mitsui enjoys “substantial growth in its core business,” Nakashima said. “The current business environment is expected to remain intact next year and beyond.” The number of accounts for the group’s Olive comprehensive financial service for individual customers stood at 6.5 million at the end of September, exceeding its forecast. The group aims to raise the number to 12 million in five years from the start of the service in 2023. “I think we can reach the target earlier than expected,” he said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]