Dai Ichi Bank

financial center of the Japanese monopoly group Dai Ichi. Founded in 1873. During World War II (1939–45) it merged with the Mitsui Bank and the new bank was named the Cheikoku Bank. In 1948 the Dai Ichi Bank split off from the Cheikoku Bank.

The Dai Ichi Bank is associated with the industrial monopolies of Furukawa, Kawasaki, Shibuzawa, Suzuki, and Fujiyama. There were (as of 1970) 151 branches in Japan, as well as branches in Great Britain, the USA, and South Korea and participation in a bank in Hong Kong. The joint stock capital on Mar. 31, 1970, was 24 billion yen; at that time the bank had reserves of 87 billion yen, a balance total of 2,426 billion yen ($6.7 billion), deposits of 1,628 billion yen, discounts and loans of 1,480 billion yen, and investments of 262 billion yen. On Oct. 1, 1971, the Dai Ichi Bank merged with the Nippon Kangyo Bank to form the Dai Ichi Kangyo Bank, the largest bank in Japan and the tenth largest capitalist bank in the world. The capital and reserves of the new bank (as of October 1971) were 145.7 billion yen, and deposits were 3,634.5 billion yen.