Sanwa Bank

one of the largest commercial banks of Japan. The bank was formed in 1933 through a merger of the Konoike Bank (1877), the 34th Bank (1878), and the Yamaguchi Bank (1879). Headquarters are in Osaka. The capital of the bank totals 66 billion yen, or $224.6 million. In late 1974 the Sanwa Bank was the fifth largest bank in Japan and 16th largest bank in the world in terms of total deposits.

The Sanwa Bank is the credit center for the Sanwa financial and industrial group. It has close ties with a number of Japanese companies, including Maruzen Oil and Hitachi Shipbuilding and Engineering. It is the largest commercial bank in terms of credits granted to medium-sized and small enterprises. In the 1970’s the bank rapidly expanded its sphere of operations by creating numerous financial companies. In 1970 the Sanwa Midori Fund (Green Fund) was established to provide credits for projects related to environmental protection. The Sanwa Bank joined a number of Japanese banks and insurance firms in establishing the Nippon Housing Loan Company, the first specialized Japanese financial institution for crediting housing construction. The bank owns the Japan Credit Bureau, the oldest company in Japan engaged in operations to mechanize the accounting of credit operations.

The Sanwa Bank is actively involved in international payments and foreign-exchange operations. It owns the Golden State Sanwa Bank—formerly, the Sanwa Bank of California (San Francisco)—and owns part of the fixed capital of the Associated Japanese Bank (London), Commercial Continental (Sydney), and Eurofinance (Paris). The bank has 216 branches in Japan and abroad. It is an agent for the Bank for Foreign Trade of the USSR (Vneshtorgbank) and banks of other socialist countries.

The bank’s total assets on Mar. 31, 1975, amounted to 8.35 trillion yen ($28.4 billion), with deposits of 5.274 trillion ($17.9 billion), acceptances and guarantees of 987 billion yen ($3.4 billion), and loans and discounting bills of 4.97 trillion yen ($16.9 billion).