Chiba Bank

The Chiba Bank, Ltd. (株式会社千葉銀行, Kabushiki-gaisha Chiba Ginkō) (TYO: 8331) is the biggest bank in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Listed on the Nikkei 225, it has branches in Osaka, New York, London, and Hong Kong.

Chiba Bank is the third-largest of Japan’s 64 regional banking groups in terms of total assets. As of March 2008, it had total assets of ¥9.8 trillion and a loan portfolio topping ¥6.6 trillion, which also made it one of the world's 200 largest banks. It employs a full-time staff of 3,675.

The bank is headquartered in Chiba Prefecture, which lies adjacent to Japan’s capital Tokyo on Tokyo Bay and has one of the most important industrial concentrations anywhere in Japan. Chiba Bank has a 36.6% market share of lending and a 23.0% share of all deposits in the prefecture. Of the bank's network of 173 branches, 154 are within Chiba Prefecture.

The bank’s strategy is to expand its branch network into adjacent prefectures along Tokyo-bound commter rail lines. It is also putting an emphasis on developing southern Chiba Prefecture as a tourist and resort area, particularly around the city of Kamogawa. The bank is well-managed and, although it posted a net loss in FY3/02 in finally clearing up 1980-vintage non-performing loans, it has since recorded six straight years of record earnings.