Chuo Mitsui SMT's earliest predecessor was
Mitsui Trust Company Ltd, established in March 1924 with a capital of 30 million yen. In March 1948, it changed its name to
Tokyo Trust & Banking Co., Ltd. It changed its name again to
Mitsui Trust and Banking Company, Ltd in 1952. The
Chuo Trust & Banking Co., Ltd. was established in May 1962 with a capital of 2.5 billion yen and support from
Tokai Bank,
Dai-Ichi Bank, the
Industrial Bank of Japan and other financial institutions. It took over Tokai and Dai-Ichi's trust businesses as well as the stock transfer agency business of Japan Securities Agents, Ltd. It acquired the Honshu operations of
Hokkaido Takushoku Bank in 1998. Mitsui Trust and Chuo Trust signed a merger agreement in May 1999 and completed their merger in April 2000, becoming . In 2001, Chuo Mitsui announced its plans to establish a new bank holding company known as
Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc., which was formed in February 2002. It changed its name to in 2007.
Sumitomo Trust Sumitomo Trust Co., Ltd. was founded in July 1925 with capital of 20 million yen and its headquarters in Awajicho, Osaka. It changed its name to
Fuji Trust & Banking Co., Ltd. in 1948 and adopted the name in 1952. In 1962 it moved its headquarters to the Sumitomo Building in Kitahama, Osaka.
Merger Chuo Mitsui agreed to merge with The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. in November 2009 and formed a holding company,
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc., through a share exchange between Chuo Mitsui and Sumitomo Trust in April 2011. The three main trust banks under this holding company merged in April 2012 to form Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Ltd. SMTB became the largest trust bank in Japan and the fifth-largest commercial bank overall measured by assets. SMTB was fined for
insider trading in 2012 after a Chuo Mitsui fund manager was found to have traded on information leaked from
Nomura Securities regarding a 2010 share issuance by
Mizuho Financial Group. == References ==