5. Retail branch reorganization

As the number of visitors to bank branches was declining due principally to increased usage of remote channels, SMBC considered reorganizing and redesigning retail branch operations. As a result, the bank drew up and carried out major plans for “transformation into next-generation branches,” including 340 renovations and 90 relocations conducted in Japan over three years from fiscal year 2017. This transformation initiative aimed for increased customer convenience coupled with improved cost structures, focusing on changing “the way we offer service to our customers,” “reassessment of administrative procedure,” and “the concept of branches.”

A package of programs was executed for various purposes. To improve customer convenience, online transaction options and paperless over-the-counter services were increased while promoting streamlining initiatives, such as consolidating back-office operations. To enhance consulting functions, dedicated booths and spaces were expanded on the branch floor. Each branch selected functions to prioritize in order to accommodate customer needs more effectively and efficiently, and were remodeled into the most suitable format, including branches which are exclusively for consultation business with individual customers and a shared office housing more than one group companies, for example, SMBC, SMBC Trust Bank and SMBC Nikko Securities, to provide one-stop services.