In pursuing profitable businesses, financial institutions face the challenge of meeting the diversified needs of households and firms appropriately and efficiently. Banks have been seeking to strengthen their management and construct a more efficient system for the division of labor and collaboration through alliances and wide-ranging consolidation. Major banks have also been seeking dynamic consolidation to better compete globally.
Given the reduced restriction in terms of credit costs, financial institutions have been gradually taking on new challenges such as increasing loans to small and medium-sized firms, originating syndicated loans, and selling mutual funds and insurance. Thus, we can say that the financial system as a whole is restoring its soundness and evolving a forward-looking, more dynamic style of management.