is a Japanese bank

Bank

A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...

 that is headquartered in Akita

Akita, Akita

is the capital city of Akita Prefecture in the Tohoku region of Japan.As of June 11, 2005, with the merger of the former Kawabe District , the city has an estimated population of 323,310 and density of...

, Akita prefecture

Akita Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region of northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita.- History :The area of Akita has been created from the ancient provinces of Dewa and Mutsu....

. The bulk of the bank’s business is in Akita prefecture, although it does operate branches in regional cities such as Morioka

Morioka, Iwate

is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture, Japan.As of 2005, the city has an estimated population of 300,740 and a population density of 588.11 persons per km². The total area is 489.15 km²....

 and Sendai

Sendai, Miyagi

is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and the largest city in the Tōhoku Region. In 2005, the city had a population of one million, and was one of Japan's 19 designated cities...

, as well as a branch in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

. The bank’s largest stakeholder is the Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd..

Profile

As of March 31, 2004

Assets: Approximately 1 trillion yen (approximately USD 9.1 billion)

Employees: 1,177

Branches: 86 (85 branches, one representative office)

President: Takeo Kagaya

Member: Regional Banks Association of Japan

History

The forerunner to the Hokuto Bank was the Masuda Bank, established in Akita prefecture in 1895. Although the Masuda Bank merged with several other banks throughout the first half of the 1900s, it changed its name to its present form in 1993 when it merged with the Akita Akebo Bank. At the time of the merger, the name Komachi Bank was floated as a possible name, but was ultimately turned down in favor of the current form. The bank has gradually diversified its range of financial services, and began to offer insurance

Insurance

In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...

in 2002. Recently, the Hokuto bank has been involved in scandals, including embezzlement charges. This prompted the Japanese Financial Services Agency to request a plan to improve its governance. As a result, the Hokuto Bank has launched a series of initiatives, entitled Believe and, more recently, Breakthrough, to improve its governance.

External links

Official site Japan Financial Services Agency Announcement, February 7, 2003