2. The birth of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

On December 2, 2002, SMBC formed Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG), a holding company, through an equity transfer, and SMBC became a wholly owned subsidiary of SMFG. Akishige Okada assumed the position of chairman of the board and Yoshifumi Nishikawa became president (while they served concurrently as chairman of the board and president of SMBC, respectively).

SMFG started with one subsidiary, SMBC. In February 2003, Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company, SMBC Leasing Company, and Japan Research Institute became wholly owned subsidiaries of SMFG. Additionally, Daiwa Securities SMBC and Daiwa SB Investments became directly owned companies.

The purpose of forming the holding company was enhancement of the group’s management. SMFG focused first on improving planning capabilities and enhancing the governance of group companies, and second on improving the overall earning capacity by strengthening strategic businesses of the group.