Mitsubishi Bank

The Mitsubishi Bank (株式会社三菱銀行) was a major Japanese bank headquartered in Tokyo, founded in 1880. For much of the 20th century it was one of the largest Japanese banks, together with Dai-Ichi Bank, Mitsui Bank, Sumitomo Bank, and Yasuda / Fuji Bank.[4] It served as the main bank for the Mitsubishi conglomerate. In 1948, the Mitsubishi conglomerate was dismantled and the bank was renamed Chiyoda Bank (千代田銀行) after the Chiyoda district in Tokyo, then reverted to the Mitsubishi name in 1953.

Mitsubishi Bank merged with the Bank of Tokyo in 1996 to form Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, a predecessor of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

Overview

The bank's operations date to 1880, when Mitsubishi group founder Yataro Iwasaki established the Mitsubishi Exchange House (三菱為替店) in Tokyo. Mitsubishi acquired the business of the Tokyo, Oita and Hakodate-based 119th National Bank in 1885, and spun this business off to an independent Mitsubishi Bank in 1919. The bank opened branches in London and New York in 1920.[5] By 1929, Mitsubishi Bank had only 3 offices outside of Japan and its colonies, less than Mitsui bank or Sumitomo Bank and much less than the Yokohama Specie Bank, Bank of Chōsen and Bank of Taiwan, for which foreign trade was part of a public-interest mandate under special legislation.[6]

During World War II, Mitsubishi Bank was a financier of Japanese interests in Manchuria through its branch in Dalian, opened in 1933.[7] Its London and New York offices closed during the war, but reopened in 1953.

In 1969, Mitsubishi and Dai-Ichi Bank, Japan's oldest bank, began preparations for a merger, which would have led to a major regrouping in the bank-led keiretsu system of the era.

Notable alumni

• Zentaro Kosaka, politician and Japanese foreign minister
• Makoto Usami, Bank of Japan president

See also

• List of banks in Japan