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ソニー銀行株式会社 is a Japanese commercial bank established in April 2001. It operates as a direct bank and has no physical branches or ATMs. It is one of the largest Neobank in Japan and a subsidiary of Sony Financial Holdings, the financial business unit of the multinational conglomerate Sony. Its main business is offering online banking with foreign currency deposits, , and home loans.
Sony faced challenges as it began Sony Bank. In 2001, when Sony Bank was founded, Web use was limited in Japan as compared with the United States.Bach, Deborah. "Sony Counting on its Brand as a Magnet for its Web Bank." American Banker: 12. Jun 12 2001. Only 24 million people used the Internet every month at that time. Still, the company remained hopeful that infrastructure would improve. Sony claimed its move into banking went hand-in-hand with its shift from a manufacturing focus to a focus on content such as films and music.Bach, Deborah. "Sony Seeks Japanese License for Web Bank; Morgan has Role." American Banker: 1. Feb 01 2001.
Sony announced its new banking unit in March 2000. The bank started doing business on June 11, 2001. The company began with Japanese yen37.5 billion of capital. It had around 80 employees at the time. It added 340 online accounts during its first hour of operation. At the time, the company offered yen-deposit accounts, , card loans, and bank payments. It hoped to expand into foreign currency deposit accounts, , and housing loans by 2002. It also hoped to allow its customers to use automated teller machines from the Japan Post.
In 2001, Sony Bank hoped to accumulate 400,000 customers by 2004. In February 2001, the company had hoped to accumulate $5.2 billion in deposits; it adjusted that figure downward to $4.1 billion in deposits three months later. In February 2001, the company aimed to gain $8.6 billion in deposits by 2006. Analysts at the time were generally upbeat about the prospects for the bank. Raymond H. Graber of TowerGroup suggested the bank could synergize with the other operations of Sony Financial. Still, Paul Jamieson of Gomez Advisors warned that customers would have high expectations for Sony Bank, given Sony's existing reputation for the ease of use and elegant design of its products.
Shigeru Ishii was appointed and served as the first president of Sony Bank."Enterprise: Companies : Online and in the Money." Asiaweek Aug 10 2001: 1-.
the company faced weak earnings."J.P. Morgan Chase & Co." Wall Street Journal: 1. ABI/INFORM Global. Sep 15 2005. Web. 27 May 2012.
By 2007, Sony Bank had accumulated 500,000 customers.Pilling, David. "Camera Sales Raise Sonys Game." Financial Times: 23. ABI/INFORM Global. Jul 27 2007. Web. 27 May 2012. That year, Sony planned to add an electronic trading platform.
In 2011, Sony had considered expanding its banking business into the Australian market, Sony eyes online Australian banking July 28, 2011, The Age. Retrieved July 28, 2011. only to abandon the idea in 2013.
In 2019, Sony Bank started an English-language online banking service to meet the need of increasing foreign residents in Japan.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group owned a 16% initial stake in the company and allowed Sony Bank customers to access its 7,600 automated teller machines. Sony Group is considered to be a Mitsui keiretsu. Sumitomo Mitsui had reduced its share to 12.6% by 2005.
Upon the bank's founding in 2001, JPMorgan Chase owned a 4% stake in the bank. JPMorgan had hoped to expand its asset management and wealth management services in Japan. The company reduced its ownership to 3.2% by 2005. It sold off its entire stake in 2005, claiming to have discussed the move with Sony in advance. By the divestiture made by JP Morgan, Sony increased its ownership to 87.4%.
In 2008, Sony Bank became a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Financial Holdings after Sumitomo Mitsui sold its remaining stake to Sony.
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