Daishi Hokuetsu, Gunma Bank Reach Final Biz Integration Accord

Tokyo, March 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese regional lenders Daishi Hokuetsu Financial Group Inc. and Gunma Bank said Thursday that they have reached a definite agreement to integrate their operations in April 2027. They will establish a new holding company, Gunma Niigata Financial Group Inc. With consolidated total assets of 21.5 trillion yen as of the end of December 2025, Gunma Niigata Financial will become the fifth-largest regional bank group in Japan. Gunma Bank President Akihiko Fukai will become president of the new holding company, and Daishi Hokuetsu Financial President Michiro Ueguri will serve as chairman with the right to represent the company. Gunma Niigata Financial will have its head office in Tokyo. Daishi Hokuetsu Financial, the parent of Daishi Hokuetsu Bank, which operates in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, and Gunma Bank, whose business area is neighboring Gunma Prefecture, reached a basic agreement on their integration in April 2025. At a press conference held in Tokyo on Thursday, Fukai said, “We’ll do everything we can for the sustainable development of our business bases, Gunma and Niigata prefectures.” “We’ll have a base to collect information in Tokyo, the center of Japan,” Ueguri said of the decision to set up the head office of the new holding firm in the Japanese capital. Daishi Hokuetsu Bank and Gunma Bank will continue operating under the holding firm, rather than merging into a single entity. They will not change the locations of their headquarters. The combined consolidated net profit of Daishi Hokuetsu Financial and Gunma Bank is estimated at 91 billion yen in the current fiscal year ending this month. They hope the integration will boost the figure to over 140 billion yen in the fiscal year to March 2030. The two sides will aim to expand their operation areas and enhance cooperation in advisory businesses, which cover mergers and acquisitions and business successions. They also plan to reduce costs by sharing systems. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]