JR West, Resona Holdings Eyeing Capital, Biz Alliance

Osaka, April 28 (Jiji Press)–West Japan Railway Co., or JR West, and major Japanese banking group Resona Holdings Inc. are considering forging a capital and business alliance, it was learned Tuesday. The railway company, which serves the Kansai western Japan region, plans to expand into financial services by acquiring an equity stake of about 20 pct in Kansai Mirai Bank, a Resona Holdings subsidiary based in the city of Osaka, the capital of the namesake prefecture, part of the region. The tie-up is expected to be announced this week. JR West will acquire Kansai Mirai Bank shares within fiscal 2026, which ends in March 2027, after obtaining approval from the Financial Services Agency. The railway operator will provide financial services under its own brand while utilizing the Resona group’s banking business infrastructure. JR West expects to offer deposit and loan services in addition to a reward point program. Customers of the company will be allowed to access its financial services through a smartphone app. While banks are increasingly able to earn profits from their lending operations thanks to rising interest rates, competition for deposits, a key resource for loans, is intensifying. Many financial institutions, including regional banks as well as megabanks, are vying in the Kansai region in particular. The planned alliance will apparently help the Resona group increase opportunities to approach JR West customers. Among other railway firms, Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., which also operates in the Kansai region, has teamed up with Senshu Ikeda Bank, an Osaka-based regional bank. Hankyu Hanshin expects to begin an internet banking business next year at the earliest, planning to provide reward points to customers according to their use of its online banking services. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]