TOKYO — Top Japanese online brokerage SBI Holdings plans to install two former senior ministry officials as independent outside directors to strengthen ties to the central government.
Junichi Fukuda, a former administrative vice minister at the Ministry of Finance, will join the company along with ex-Vice Agriculture Minister Hiroyuki Suematsu. They will officially be appointed at the general shareholders meeting June 29.
The board already includes Heizo Takenaka, a former minister of state for economic and fiscal policy. Toru Ichikawa, a former chief financial inspector at the Financial Services Agency, is now a standing statutory auditor at SBI.
Ikko Nakatsuka, a former Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker who served as minister of state for financial services, became an SBI director in 2014 but left that post in 2019. Hirofumi Gomi, a past FSA commissioner, held a seat from 2017 to 2019.
SBI is building a network with Japanese regional banks, investing in the likes of Shimane Bank, Fukushima Bank and Shimizu Bank. It seeks to strengthen its tie-ups through operational reforms as well as business support.
“I look forward to making use of my knowledge on partnerships with regional financial institutions,” said Fukuda. He resigned from the Finance Ministry in 2018 following multiple allegations of sexual harassment.
Junichi Fukuda resigned as administrative vice finance minister over sexual harassment allegations.
Suematsu has strong ties to the food industry. SBI hopes that he can use his connections to support the Osaka Dojima Commodity Exchange.
SBI holds a stake in the exchange and considers it a key component of its push to make Osaka an international financial hub.
Banking and food are highly regulated sectors. SBI likely hopes to leverage the former officials’ connections both inside and outside government, as well as their knowledge and experience in navigating complex regulations, to advance its interests.
