Resona Holdings Inc. has decided to raise wages for workers in nonmanagerial posts at its banks by 1 percent or more on average from July in the first wage hike in 20 years, company officials said.
The move is aimed at raising its workers' morale now that the Japanese financial giant expects this summer to finish repaying a public bail-out it received more than a decade ago.
The first pay raise since 1995 for the Resona group will affect about 12,000 workers at Resona Bank, Saitama Resona Bank and Kinki Osaka Bank. The group was effectively nationalized in 2003 when it received public money from the government.
Under new performance-based pay, workers will receive an additional ¥3,000 or ¥4,500 every month according to their position, the officials said.
"We think it is the right time for us to implement such steps to reward our employees for their hard work," a Resona Holdings official said.
On Thursday, Resona Holdings raised its group net profit estimate for fiscal 2014 to ¥211 billion, up from ¥190 billion projected last year, on the back of brisk sales of investment trusts and insurance products.