GMO Click and Aozora go ahead with their plans for internet bank

Do not invest more money than you can afford to lose.

Japan’s GMO Click Holding (TYO:7177) and Aozora bank (TYO:8304) announced they are going ahead with their plans to set up an internet bank and have signed a memorandum of understanding for the establishing of the Aozora Trust.

As SMN reported in March, the two Japanese companies have set up a joint venture  which will be providing internet banking and financial technology services. 

The Aozora Trust will provide low-cost banking services that are linked to ecommerce builder or payment services offering improved productivity for SMEs including ecommerce businesses; IT driven banking/securities services for individuals with functionality in conjunction with GMO’s forex broker GMO CLICK Securities. There will also be fintech services on offer.

The companies expect to complete the negotiations and sign a final agreement in June this year. The bank will most likely launch in 2017, as it is pending regulation.

GMO Click Holding is a financial holding company, established in 2012. Its consolidated total assets as of end of 2015 were JPY 450.9 billion. Its subsidiary GMO Internet had consolidated total assets of JPY 554 billion. At the same time its consolidated profit jumped by 32.9% to JPY 6.45 billion in the fiscal year (FY), ended 31 March, 2016. The group’s revenue increased by 16.3% to JPY 29 billion in the period under review.

GMO Click Securities, which will be offering some of its services through the new internet banking platform, is the world’s largest forex broker in terms of trading volumes in March 2016. It offers online trading of forex, CFDs and precious metals. It also provides various financial instruments to retail investors.

In April GMO Click securities reported that its forex brokerage GMO Click Securities and FX Prime, saw their trading volumes plunge in April to their lowest since the beginning of 2016.

Aozora Bank was established in 1957 and as of December 31, 2015 had consolidated total assets of JPY 4.7 trillion. Its subsidiary Aozora Trust Bank’s assets totaled JPY 6.5 billion as of end of September 2015.