| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : JUNE 14, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| INTERNATIONAL -- ASIAN COVER STORY
Yoshifumi Nishikawa, President, Sumitomo Bank, Japan (int'l edition) THERE ARE DAYS WHEN YOSHIFUMI NISHIKAWA wishes he had pursued his dream of becoming a newsman after he graduated from Osaka University in the early 1960s. After all, it's easier to dish out criticism than to receive it. And as president of troubled Sumitomo Bank, Nishikawa has taken heat. The bank posted a $4.5 billion group loss for 1998 and took the humiliating step of applying for government bailout funds. Now, by breaking tradition, Nishikawa is winning admirers. Sumitomo's stock has nearly doubled since October, and the reason is Nishikawa's serious cost-cutting and sensible growth strategy. With help from foreign partners, he's focusing on asset management for wealthy individuals, lending to Japan's midsize companies, and wholesale securities and derivative services. Nishikawa, 60, says the old ways are gone for good: ''All industries are going global now, and even if the Japanese recession ends, we can't go back.'' Nishikawa has taken a machete to costs: eliminating 2,000 jobs, closing some 40 branches, and selling off 10 recreational facilities cherished by executives. Sumitomo also sold a bank in California and part of its stake in Goldman Sachs. Nishikawa hasn't been shy about outside alliances. Sumitomo and Daiwa Securities teamed up with T. Rowe Price and Robert Fleming to beef up expertise in pension-fund management. He's also eyeing, with Mitsubishi Group, financial companies to manage 401(k)-type employee pensions, which are ultimately expected to win government approval. ''This will require a huge investment in computer systems,'' says Nishikawa, which Sumitomo can't shoulder alone. When he isn't putting out fires at the bank, Nishikawa is following his beloved Hanshin Tigers hometown baseball team on television. There hasn't been much time for that this year. But with his overhaul and new strategy, he soon might be able to sneak off to a game or two. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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