Japanese SMFG reports 19 percent profit drop

By Margarita Snegireva. Japan's third-largest bank Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group announced a 19 percent drop in nine-month net profit, hurt by subprime losses and falls in the share prices of consumer loan affiliates, but stuck to its full-year forecast.

Photo: Japanese SMFG reports 19 percent profit drop

While SMFG and other Japanese lenders have avoided the heavy subprime losses that hit Merrill Lynch and other overseas rivals, they haven't escaped unscathed.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, or SMFG, is a Japanese financial group, the third largest bank in Japan and one of the world's largest banks with asset of $1.3 trillion US dollars.

December 2002 Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG) is established through a share transfer from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation . SMFG's shares become listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Osaka Securities Exchange and the Nagoya Stock Exchange.

February 2003 Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company, Limited, SMBC Leasing Company, Limited, and The Japan Research Institute became wholly-owned subsidiaries of SMFG

June 2004 Reached an agreement to form a strategic alliance with Promise Co., Ltd. on consumer finance business. (Started collaborative business in April 2005.)

April 2005 Reached an agreement to form a strategic alliance with NTT DoCoMo on credit card business. (Transferred a portion of the shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Card held by SMFG to NTT DoCoMo, and Sumitomo Mitsui Card issued new shares and allocated them to NTT DoCoMo by means of third party allocation in July 2005. Started collaborative business in December 2005.)

September 2006 SMBC Friend Securities became wholly-owned subsidiary of SMFG

October 2006 Reached an agreement to pursue strategic joint business with the Sumitomo Corporation group in leasing and auto leasing businesses.