Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Table of Contents -- About the Authors -- Chapter 1 How Regional Financial Institutions Can Promote Regional Revitalization in Japan: Results from a 2017 Survey on Regional Finance -- Chapter 2 Current Situation and Challenges of Human Resources Management at...

Few studies have investigated whether Japanese banks affiliated with bank holding companies are more efficient and profitable than independent banks. The present paper tests this hypothesis by using both a stochastic frontier approach and a market valuation approach. First, our results suggest...

We investigate the effect of strategic investors on bank efficiency in the context of regional economic development. The data on Chinese city commercial banks operating regionally are well-suited for the study. Our findings suggest that strategic investors significantly increase efficiency in...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the efficiency of the banking business of Japan’s agricultural cooperatives (JAs), which depend heavily on financial business with non-farmers, contradictory to cooperative principles. Design/methodology/approach: The authors construct a...

The recent financial deregulation in Japanese banking has enabled regional banks to engage in trust businesses. This paper examines the impact of such nontraditional banking activities on cost structure by measuring economies of scale and scope. A generalized translog cost function, which can...

In this study, we investigate the market characteristics of prefectures in which non-local regional banks of other prefectures choose to enter and their motivations for doing so, considering the Japanese government’s requirements for regional financial institutions to actively stimulate their...