The Mitsui Trust & Banking Company, Ltd.

1-1, Nihonbashi-Muromachi 2-chome
Chuo-ku
Tokyo 103
Japan
(03) 270-9511

Public Company
Incorporated: 1924
Employees: 6,200
Assets: ¥10.96 trillion (US$87.69 billion)
Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka

The Mitsui Trust & Banking Company is the oldest institution of its kind in Japan. Mitsui Trust is specially chartered to perform trust banking services. Of Japan’s seven trust banks, Mitsui ranks third in size.

In 1923 the Mitsui Bank was prevented from managing trusts by new government legislation. When Mitsui Bussan, the large trading conglomerate which created the Mitsui Bank, wanted to exploit new opportunities in trust banking, it was compelled to found an entirely new company. Using staff from the bank, the Bussan helped to create the Mitsui Trust Company in 1924.

Although it was an independent company, Mitsui Trust was controlled by other Mitsui companies. Just as Mitsui Bank was, to a great extent, the private bank of the Mitsui group, Mitsui Trust was the trust management division of the bank, separated from it only by a regulatory technicality.

As a result of its position within the Mitsui group and behind Mitsui Bank, Mitsui Trust was insulated from many of the political difficulties of the Bussan. In 1932 a group of militarists opposed to the domination of Japanese conglomerates assassinated Takuma Dan, the head of Mitsui Bussan. When these militarists gained control of the government, however, they were compelled to reach an accommodation with the conglomerates in order to achieve the military and industrial mobilization they desired. Instead of being broken up, Mitsui became larger and stronger.

As the group expanded, Mitsui Trust’s investment portfolios grew as well. But by the end of World War II, Japan was in ruins. Under the occupation authority, the banking and financial system was reorganized and new anti-monopoly laws were passed. These laws forced conglomerates like Mitsui to disband into thousands of smaller, independent companies, none of which were permitted to keep their prewar names.

Mitsui Trust resumed its business in 1948 as the Tokyo Trust & Banking Company. In order to compete better with the larger city banks, the company was also chartered to engage in general banking. In 1952 industrial laws were relaxed, and Tokyo Trust & Banking was permitted to change its name back to Mitsui. Furthermore, the company was allowed to re-establish ties with other Mitsui companies.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Mitsui Trust maintained a low profile in industrial and banking matters. Because it conducted a great majority of its business with other Mitsui group companies, Mitsui Trust’s growth was broadly based among several industries, and therefore largely insulated from sectoral recessions. Profits were lightly and only temporarily affected by the oil crisis of 1973-1974.

By 1980 Mitsui Trust was one of the largest trust banks in Japan. Its continuing success was built largely on the strength of Japan’s export-led growth and on the increasingly strong position of Mitsui group companies in the domestic economy.

The 1980s, however, marked the beginning of a new era in Japanese finance. There was increased pressure on Japanese legislators to liberalize the system of financial regulation that prevented financial institutions from entering a broader range of services. The prospect of deregulation forced the management of Mitsui Trust to adopt a more aggressive strategy. While it had operated for many years as a de facto division of the Mitsui group with a well-protected niche in the trust banking market, it was now faced with increasingly dynamic and versatile competition.

With further domestic opportunities hampered by its association with Mitsui companies, Mitsui Trust turned to international markets, already a traditional strength. It bolstered its network of overseas offices and prepared to make its bold and very successful entry into foreign capital markets.

Mitsui Trust is today the third largest trust bank in Japan. Its international operations are among the strongest in the world (it is the leading Japanese Eurobond dealer in Europe). As it consolidates its position in international finance, Mitsui Trust is likely to become more aggressive and develop a higher public profile.

Principal Subsidiaries:

Mitsui Trust Finance (Hong Kong) Ltd.; Mitsui Trust Bank (Europe) S.A.; Mitsui Trust Finance (Switzerland) Ltd.; Mitsui Trust International Ltd.; Mitsui Trust Finance (Australia) Ltd.; Mitsui Trust Bank (U.S.A.); Mitsui Trust Futures (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.