# Chiba Bank
**The Chiba Bank, Ltd.** is a Japanese regional bank headquartered in Chiba City, founded in March 1943 through the merger of Chiba Godo Bank, Omigawa Agricultural and Commercial Bank, and the Kujuhachi Bank[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf). Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market under securities code 8331 and included in the [Nikkei 225](https://www.edgepedia.org/nikkei-225) and JPX-Nikkei 400 indexes, it is among the largest regional banks in Japan by assets and profitability, and it holds the top deposit and loan market share in its home prefecture[2](https://www.chibabank.co.jp/f/integrated_report_2026_an_1) • [3](https://search.sbisec.co.jp/v2/popwin/info/home/seminar/home_seminar_briefing_260312_chibabank.pdf). It is also unusual among regional banks for its overseas presence, with branches in New York, Hong Kong, London, and Singapore and representative offices in Shanghai and Bangkok[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 1943, merger of three banks under the wartime "one bank per prefecture" doctrine[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf) • [4](https://the-shashi.com/en/tse/8331/) |
| Listing | TSE Prime, code 8331; Nikkei 225 and JPX-Nikkei 400 member[3](https://search.sbisec.co.jp/v2/popwin/info/home/seminar/home_seminar_briefing_260312_chibabank.pdf) |
| Scale (March 2026) | Deposits ¥16,851.4 billion; loans ¥14,147.7 billion; consolidated total assets ¥21,211.8 billion[2](https://www.chibabank.co.jp/f/integrated_report_2026_an_1) |
| Profit | FY2025 net income ¥94.0 billion, a record for the fourth consecutive fiscal year[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf) |
| Soundness | Capital ratio 15.02%; non-performing loan ratio 0.84%[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf) |
| Network | 186 domestic locations (per the annual report) plus 4 overseas branches and 2 representative offices[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf) |
| Pending consolidation | Joint holding company, Chiba Financial Group, Inc., with Chiba Kogyo Bank on April 1, 2027[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf) |
## History
The bank was formed on 31 March 1943, when the wartime "one bank per prefecture" policy pushed Chiba Godo, Omigawa Nosho, and the Ninety-Eighth banks into a merger, creating The Chiba Bank, Ltd. with nominal capital of ¥10 million, its head office in Chiba City, and seventy branches[4](https://the-shashi.com/en/tse/8331/). It absorbed Chiba Savings Bank in March 1944 and took over the business of Noda Shoyu Bank that June, leaving it the only bank headquartered in Chiba[4](https://the-shashi.com/en/tse/8331/).
**Expansion milestones.** The bank listed on the [Tokyo Stock Exchange](https://www.edgepedia.org/tokyo-stock-exchange) 1st section in August 1971 and opened its first overseas branch, in New York, in April 1987[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf). Sakuma Hidetoshi became president in March 2009 and served twelve years; the current president is Tsutomu Yonemoto (米本努)[4](https://the-shashi.com/en/tse/8331/) • [3](https://search.sbisec.co.jp/v2/popwin/info/home/seminar/home_seminar_briefing_260312_chibabank.pdf).
## Business and operations
The domestic network is concentrated in [Chiba Prefecture](https://www.edgepedia.org/chiba-prefecture), with additional presence in Tokyo's 23 wards, Ibaraki, and Saitama[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf). The group comprises 18 companies[3](https://search.sbisec.co.jp/v2/popwin/info/home/seminar/home_seminar_briefing_260312_chibabank.pdf); the securities report lists the bank plus 15 subsidiaries, including the back-office firm ちばぎんハートフル株式会社, with 164 head-office branches and 14 sub-branches, and 3,873 bank employees in FY2026[5](https://f.irbank.net/pdf/E03556/ir/S100YDSE.pdf). The bank's own briefing materials count 183 branches plus 3 money-exchange counters domestically and 4 overseas branches with 2 representative offices, and note that it is the only regional bank with a European branch[3](https://search.sbisec.co.jp/v2/popwin/info/home/seminar/home_seminar_briefing_260312_chibabank.pdf). The annual report's figure of 186 domestic locations and the briefing's 183 branches plus 3 counters differ in how offices are counted; both are reported here as stated[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf) • [3](https://search.sbisec.co.jp/v2/popwin/info/home/seminar/home_seminar_briefing_260312_chibabank.pdf).
Beyond deposit-taking and lending, the bank participates in the TSUBASA Alliance, the Chiba Musashino Alliance, and the Chiba-Yokohama Partnership, and collaborates with Sony Bank on digital transformation[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf). It acquired the company Edge Technology in October 2024 and Fresh Farm Chiba in March 2025 as group companies[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf).
## Financial performance
The five fiscal years to March 2026 show steady growth. Deposits rose from ¥14,787,688 million (March 2022) to ¥16,851,456 million (March 2026), and loans from ¥11,691,342 million to ¥14,147,744 million[5](https://f.irbank.net/pdf/E03556/ir/S100YDSE.pdf). [Return on equity](https://www.edgepedia.org/return-on-equity) improved from 6.27% to 9.70% over the same period, and dividends per share rose from ¥24 to ¥52[5](https://f.irbank.net/pdf/E03556/ir/S100YDSE.pdf).
**Record profits.** In FY2025 (fiscal year ended March 2026) gross business profit rose ¥29.6 billion year on year to ¥216.2 billion, the consolidated overhead ratio fell 4.9 points to the 41% range, and profit attributable to owners of parent rose ¥19.8 billion to ¥94.0 billion, with ordinary profit and net income at record highs for four consecutive fiscal years[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf). Net interest income increased ¥41.2 billion year on year, and core business income excluding investment trust cancellation gains and losses rose for the seventh consecutive fiscal year to ¥129.8 billion[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf). The integrated report puts consolidated net income at ¥94,063 million, up from ¥74,259 million the prior year, with total assets of ¥21,211,781 million and a price-to-book ratio of 1.10 times[2](https://www.chibabank.co.jp/f/integrated_report_2026_an_1). Soundness metrics are strong by the bank's own reporting: a capital ratio of 15.02% and a non-performing loan ratio of 0.84%, below 1%[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf).
## Comparison with Chiba Kogyo Bank and the coming Chiba Financial Group
Chiba Prefecture supports two regionally headquartered banks. As of March 31, 2025, Chiba Bank had consolidated total assets of ¥21,631.2 billion, net assets of ¥1,145.1 billion, 4,280 employees, and 186 domestic offices, while Chiba Kogyo Bank had ¥3,246.8 billion in assets, 1,313 employees, and 80 domestic branches plus 2 Loan Plazas, roughly a six-to-one gap in assets[6](https://www.chibabank.co.jp/en/news/en_newsrelease_20250929_01). The industry association's 2025 compilation shows the same pattern in deposits and loans: ¥16,268 billion and ¥13,233 billion for Chiba Bank against ¥2,879 billion and ¥2,420 billion for Chiba Kogyo[7](https://www.chiginkyo.or.jp/assets/chiginpamph2025en.pdf). Chiba Bank owned 11,812,000 Chiba Kogyo shares as of March 2025[6](https://www.chibabank.co.jp/en/news/en_newsrelease_20250929_01).
On September 29, 2025 the two banks announced a management consolidation, and on March 25, 2026 they reached a final agreement to establish a joint holding company, **Chiba Financial Group, Inc.**, on April 1, 2027 through a joint share transfer, subject to shareholder approval[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf) • [6](https://www.chibabank.co.jp/en/news/en_newsrelease_20250929_01). The holding company is planned to apply for a technical listing on the TSE Prime Market, with both banks' shares delisted before the transfer takes effect, and the banks do not plan a merger afterwards[6](https://www.chibabank.co.jp/en/news/en_newsrelease_20250929_01). The combined entity is projected at consolidated total assets of ¥24.88 trillion, deposits of ¥19.15 trillion, loans of ¥15.65 trillion, net income of ¥92.5 billion, 5,593 employees, and 268 domestic locations[6](https://www.chibabank.co.jp/en/news/en_newsrelease_20250929_01).
## Recent developments
Three developments stand out. First, the consolidation with Chiba Kogyo described above, agreed in September 2025 and finalized in March 2026, will place both banks under a single holding company in April 2027[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf). Second, the group made acquisitions: Edge Technology (October 2024) and Fresh Farm Chiba (March 2025)[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf). Third, profitability has strengthened markedly, with net interest income up ¥41.2 billion in the latest fiscal year and four consecutive record-profit years[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf).
**Narita upside.** In July 2025 the entire Chiba Prefecture was designated part of the Tokyo Area National Strategic Special Zone. The bank cites the large-scale development project around Narita Airport, estimated to generate a ¥55 trillion economic ripple effect over 15 years, from which it anticipates cumulative benefits of up to approximately ¥90.0 billion over 16 years[1](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf).
The transaction has a US filing footprint: a Form 425 was filed with the SEC for the joint holding company, which lists Chiba Bank with 805,521,087 issued shares and consolidated total assets of ¥20,943.6 billion as of October 20, 2025[8](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2088606/000094787126000328/ss6103609_425.htm). That asset figure is lower than the March 2026 year-end figure of ¥21,211.8 billion in the integrated report, consistent with the different dates rather than a contradiction[2](https://www.chibabank.co.jp/f/integrated_report_2026_an_1) • [8](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2088606/000094787126000328/ss6103609_425.htm).
## References
1. [The Chiba Bank, Ltd. Annual Report FY2025 (HKMA repository)](https://vpr.hkma.gov.hk/statics/assets/doc/100183/ar_26/ar_26_pt01_eng.pdf)
2. [The Chiba Bank, Ltd. Integrated Report 2026](https://www.chibabank.co.jp/f/integrated_report_2026_an_1)
3. [株式会社千葉銀行 会社説明会 (SBI Securities company briefing)](https://search.sbisec.co.jp/v2/popwin/info/home/seminar/home_seminar_briefing_260312_chibabank.pdf)
4. [Chiba Bank — Company History (the-shashi.com)](https://the-shashi.com/en/tse/8331/)
5. [株式会社千葉銀行 有価証券報告書 (securities report, EDINET)](https://f.irbank.net/pdf/E03556/ir/S100YDSE.pdf)
6. [Memorandum of Understanding regarding Management Consolidation (Chiba Bank, Sept 29, 2025)](https://www.chibabank.co.jp/en/news/en_newsrelease_20250929_01)
7. [2025 Regional Banks in Japan (National Association of Regional Banks)](https://www.chiginkyo.or.jp/assets/chiginpamph2025en.pdf)
8. [SEC Form 425 filing re: Chiba Bank / Chiba Kogyo Bank joint holding company](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2088606/000094787126000328/ss6103609_425.htm)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Economics and business › Finance › Banks (institutions and by country) › Banks in Asia-Pacific › Japanese banks and financial groups*
*Initially written Oct 10, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license