Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. and Aozora Bank said Tuesday they have agreed to tie up in a broad range of businesses, including real estate, to boost their competitiveness by utilizing each other's business knowhow.
Sumitomo Trust, Japan's fifth-largest banking group, and Aozora Bank, the successor to the once-nationalized Nippon Credit Bank, will launch joint operations in real estate, trust and asset management by around the end of March, the two banks said.
They also said they are looking into expanding their cooperation into other areas.