Daiwa Bank and Asahi Bank, the core banks in the Resona Group, integrated their operations Saturday to form Resona Bank and Saitama Resona Bank.

The group's banks aim to become "super-regional banks" to provide services to small companies and individual clients in specific local areas.

This is in contrast to the four biggest banking groups, including Mizuho Holdings Inc. and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc., which mainly cater to major corporate customers and individuals across the nation.