The Norinchukin Bank (農林中央金庫), also referred to as Nochu Bank, is a Japanese cooperative bank serving over 5,612 agricultural, fishing and forestry cooperatives from its headquarters in Tokyo.
Nochu is one of Japan's largest institutional investors,[2] with an investment portfolio of more than US$400 billion and assets exceeding US$840 billion. Through overseas branches located in New York City, London, and Singapore, it invests in bond, securitization products, stock, private equity, and real estate. Its large assets of US$840 billion are managed by only around 3,200 employees, as the bank is mainly engaged in asset management and large scale corporate financing. It has 41 offices throughout Japan and five overseas branches.
Nochu's member cooperatives include federations such as the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA) and the Japan Fishery Cooperatives (JF). Norinchukin supports political lobbying against agricultural imports and the deterioration of living standards in rural areas.
History
The Norinchukin Bank was founded on 20 December 1923 by the Japanese government to support the country's agriculture industry. Norinchukin is derived from the bank's Japanese name Nō - Rin - Chūō - Kinko (Agriculture - forestry - central - credit union).