BANKER OF THE YEAR: KOMATSU
It seemed an impossible dream. An alliance between one of Wall Street's oldest and most distinguished securities firms, and Japan's leading commercial bank. Yet last month, that's what Goldman Sachs and Sumitomo Bank announced to the world's stunned financial community.
With hindsight, it looks logical. Goldman's thirst for capital and Sumitomo's craving for a larger share of the international securities business gives the alliance a sound commercial basis. But to put together such a deal requires creative vision. That was provided by Sumitomo Bank's president, Koh Komatsu, who first grasped the possibilities of a partnership with Goldman. For this coup, and a long record of past successes, Komatsu receives Euromoney's Banker of the Year Award for 1986.
From his Osaka headquarters Komatsu presides over an empire beyond the dreams of any mediaeval shogun. Sumitomo is the world's third largest bank. It has offices scattered throughout the US, Europe and the Middle East. Its total assets amount to 31 trillion ($200 billion) at current exchange rates. Only two others, Fuji and Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, are larger. And Sumitomo is more profitable than either. For the year September 1984 to September 1985 (the latest available figures) Sumitomo recorded net income of $367 million, compared with $340 million for Fuji and $304 million for Dai-Ichi Kangyo, now the world's biggest bank.