Банк Shiga Bank пересматривает глобализацию, инвестируя в устойчивое развитие региона Японии

From the shores of Lake Biwa, Shiga Bank is redefining what globalization means for a regional financial institution. Rather than pursuing scale, it is using international networks to circulate capital, knowledge and opportunity back into local communities, supporting Japan’s regional economies. “Profit is not an end in itself, but the foundation that makes investment in the future possible.” — Shinya Kubota, president By Daniel de Bomford As morning light pours onto Lake Biwa, the lake’s surface comes into view—waters that have shaped life in central Japan for thousands of years. Fishing boats draw quiet lines across the lake, and rivers fed by its water flow out toward cities. For Shiga Prefecture, Lake Biwa is infrastructure, history, and a responsibility that must be protected. That sense of responsibility also runs through Shiga Bank. Headquartered beside one of the world’s oldest lakes, the bank has built its strategy around a central question: how do you protect what supports the region and secure economic sustainability in an increasingly globalized world? Shiga Bank has found its answer not in “expansion,” but in “connection”—linking regional companies to global opportunities, connecting environmental preservation with sustainable value, and turning global perspectives into local action. That is the bank’s stance. A history built by movement and exchange Shiga Bank’s philosophy is rooted in the land. Shiga Prefecture sits near the center of Japan’s main island and is home to Lake Biwa, one of the world’s oldest freshwater lakes. Historically, it served as a route connecting the Sea of Japan with Kyoto and Osaka, carrying not only goods, but also culture and ideas. “Historically, Shiga was a hub for logistics and cultural exchange. Goods that arrived in Tsuruga from Hokkaido crossed Lake Biwa and were carried to Kyoto—playing, in a sense, a role similar to today’s National Route 1,” Shinya Kubota, President of Shiga Bank, said. This history overlaps with the spirit of the Omi merchants, who operated widely yet returned profits to their home region. Their ethos—“good for the seller, good for the buyer, good for society”—still underpins Shiga Bank. “This idea is deeply rooted in the spirit of the Omi merchants and the presence of Lake Biwa. That history and spirit continue to flow through Shiga Bank today,” Kubota said. Think globally, stay rooted locally From its early days, Shiga Bank moved away from the model of a regional bank confined to its prefecture. Soon after its merger, it expanded into Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo—an unusual decision at the time. “We believed that by returning profits and insights gained in major cities to the region, we could support the regional economy more strongly,” Kubota said. However, this outward stance was never meant to make the bank itself a “global company.” “Our objective is not for us to become a ‘global company,’” Kubota said. “We believe what matters is functioning as a hub that connects diverse partners inside and outside Japan and creates value.” In practical terms, that means building networks, gathering information, and creating systems that help regional firms—many of them small and midsize manufacturers—grow beyond Japan’s shrinking domestic market. Supporting local companies’ overseas expansion Shiga has Japan’s highest share of secondary industry, and overseas expansion has become an urgent issue for local companies. Shiga Bank established overseas bases early and strengthened partnerships with organizations such as JETRO. “In the past, support focused mainly on securing low-cost production bases, but today needs have diversified—market development, partner searches, regulatory responses and market research, among others,” Kubota said. To meet those needs, the bank has strengthened talent development on the ground while coordinating closely with teams in Japan, with a particular focus on India. “We position India as an important market going forward and are dispatching staff to conduct local research,” Kubota said. The bank has also worked with institutions such as JBIC to jointly monitor regional companies’ overseas businesses, building a more advanced support structure. “In short, globalization means expanding networks and creating mechanisms that allow regional companies to maximize their capabilities,” Kubota said. Environmental management is both mission and strategy If globalization is an outward force, environmental action is an inward responsibility. Shiga Bank’s sustainability efforts have a long history: it established an environmental policy in 1999, became the first bank recognized under Japan’s Eco-First program, and in 2017 formally declared its commitment to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “The starting point for our environmental efforts is, above all, the existence of Lake Biwa,” Kubota said. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake with about four million years of history. It is home to many endemic species and also serves as a water source for the Keihanshin metropolitan area. If conditions deteriorate, millions would be affected. “We see Lake Biwa not as a ‘resource consumed by modern people,’ but as an ‘asset entrusted to us from the future.’ We have a responsibility to pass it on to the next generation in better condition,” Kubota said. Bank leadership points to the severe pollution issues of decades past—when residents mobilized to limit synthetic detergents—as an example of what is at stake. “As global warming progresses, environmental risks will only continue to grow,” Kubota said. “For a bank headquartered in Shiga, environmental action is not an option—it is a mission.” What matters is that the bank does not treat environmental activity as “charity.” “This should not be volunteer work. It must be a ‘valuable business’ that supports the region’s sustainability,” Kubota said. Putting sustainability into financial practice That belief has taken shape in concrete initiatives. Shiga Bank has long worked in environmental finance and has expanded into sustainable finance and transition finance. It offers products that support decarbonization, including home loans that set the interest rate to zero on the portion that covers the cost of installing solar panels and battery storage. In April 2024, the bank went further and established an energy subsidiary, Shigagin Energy. “We believed we should first demonstrate our strong commitment to GX ourselves, so we launched an energy company,” Kubota said. It currently has about 28MW of generation capacity, enough to supply electricity for around 10,000 households. The goal is not only decarbonization, but the resilience of the regional economy. “Shiga Prefecture is said to see about 200 billion yen in energy costs flow out of the region each year. If power is generated inside the region, money circulates within the region,” Kubota said. The vision is “local production and local consumption of energy,” an essential idea for protecting manufacturing and Lake Biwa’s ecosystem. “If Shiga’s decarbonization falls behind, the manufacturing-centered regional economy will decline,” Kubota said. “The worsening of Lake Biwa’s water quality and the impact on its ecosystem would become dramatically more severe.” Confronting regional challenges head-on In addition to environmental issues, Shiga Bank is also tackling challenges shared across Japan’s regional economies—population decline, business succession and digital transformation. “These challenges cannot be solved by a single sector. Collaboration among government, academia, industry and finance is necessary,” Kubota said. Shiga has many universities, and startup support through industry–government–academia–finance collaboration has continued for more than 20 years. For business succession, the bank established Shigagin Capital Partners in 2024 to provide capital participation and management support. “We must respond to diverse needs beyond M&A,” Kubota said, pointing to capital investment and human-resources support as key elements. The bank has also entered the recruitment business, matching management talent with local companies. On digital transformation, it shares its own digitization experience and supports clients with DX strategy development and system upgrades. Measuring success beyond profit Shiga Bank achieved record profits, with net income reaching 18.7 billion yen ($120 million). However, its position that profit is not the purpose remains unchanged. “Profit is not the goal; it is the foundation for investing in the future,” Kubota said. Asked what success should look like in the coming years, his answer was clear: “What matters most is whether we are truly helpful to the region. If that contribution is recognized by the region as corporate value, that would be a major step forward,” Kubota said. For Shiga Bank, the future is not something to wait for. “The future is not left to chance—it is shaped by our own intentions,” Kubota said. And the bank’s ambition can be distilled into one phrase: it wants to seriously practice “good for the seller, good for the buyer, good for society,” and bring lasting value to the region.