Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. disbanded Monday and merged with Wakashio Bank, a tiny SMBC subsidiary.

The merger constitutes an unusual strategy aimed at generating financial resources to cover huge latent shareholding losses. The merged entity retains the SMBC name.

SMBC's merger with the second-tier regional based in Tokyo provides the new entity with resources of 2 trillion yen. These funds may be used to remove latent losses on SMBC shareholdings, according to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., SMBC's holding company.