6. Meeting the needs of an aging society

In Japan, rapid demographic change was becoming a major social issue. Noticing that the inheritance tax has been strengthened since 2015 in Japan and small- to medium-sized enterprises were concerned over the issues of aging management and a lack of successors, SMBC Group invested substantially in providing support services for customers by addressing issues related to an aging society.

SMBC entered the testamentary trust business in February 2005, taking advantage of deregulation measures. The bank engaged in collaboration with SMBC Nikko Securities and SMBC Trust Bank while enhancing its own business structure. As a result, the annual number of contract in testamentary trust increased more than fivefold over the ten years from 2011 to 2020. At the same time, in anticipation of the hundred-year life era, each company expanded the lineup of products and services related to inheritance and asset transfer, and enhanced its ability to organize seminars and other opportunities to provide information. In April 2021, SMBC launched the SMBC Elder Program to offer not only financial services but also non-financial services, specifically referral to nursing care facilities, housework providers, home security and other services. This was a total-solutions-provider business directed at the needs of the coming era of an aging society.

In order to provide consulting services to address issues related to business succession, such as a lack of successors, SMBC ramped up collaboration activities between the Retail Banking Unit and Wholesale Banking Unit, and those between SMBC, SMBC Nikko Securities and SMBC Trust Bank.