Japan

Japan’s SME sector faces particular difficulties as Covid-19 disruptions collide with an unfamiliar variety of market turmoil.

The old adage that one should never let a good crisis go to waste sure didn’t elude Hiroyuki Nagai’s staff during these last 12 months of coronavirus chaos.

Morgan Stanley did an impressive job navigating the financial storm in 2020. That was abundantly clear in September when it officially cemented its spot as the most profitable foreign securities firm in Japan in the fiscal year ending in March. A bevy of deals in which Morgan Stanley participated and trading in hedge funds helped to fend off a challenge by JPMorgan Chase.

It’s oddly fitting that MUFG Bank would pick a former high school rowing star for its new CEO. Those skills will come in handy considering the rough seas Japan’s financial system will have to navigate in 2021.

The 31st annual Asiamoney Brokers Poll invited chief investment officers, fund managers and investment analysts to take part. Voters represented fund management houses, hedge fund & private equity firms, insurance companies and wealth management houses in Asia, Europe and North America.

Japan’s banking system is a tough place to work for ambitious women. But Kathy Matsui shows it is possible to rise to the top.

The truth is that domestic banking of small and medium-sized enterprises is not a core priority for any of the megabanks – it is to a large extent still served on the ground by regional and local banks – but SMBC shows the clearest sense of direction among the top three.