Daiwa Bank and Sumitomo Trust Banking & Co.'s decision to jointly provide administrative services for corporate pension and other trust funds was motivated by their desire to share the burden of information technology investment -- a catch phrase in the financial industry these days.
Information technology is seen as the key area of investment for many of the nation's financial institutions. This is especially true in the pension business, where companies that entrust their pension funds are demanding a more diverse and higher level of services from pension managers, according to bank officials.
Daiwa Bank and Sumitomo Trust, both headquartered in Osaka, told a Tokyo news conference Tuesday that they have agreed to set up a new trust bank that will specialize in the administration of pension trusts, as well as investment trusts and "tokkin" specified money trusts.