Norinchukin Bank, The

The Norinchukin Bank is a cooperative bank that is based out of Tokyo. The company was established in 1923 by the Japanese government with a specific goal of supporting the agriculture industry within Japan. Known previously as Sangyo Kumiai at its inception, the bank would then go on to change its name to the Norinchukin Bank in 1943, which remains its name today. The bank plays a major role in contributing to the “development of the nation's economy and as a supporter of the advancement of the agricultural, fisheries and forestry industries with facilitated finance for its members including Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA), Japan Fishery Cooperatives (JF) and Japan Forestry Cooperatives (JForest).” Norinchukin Bank operates through a network of 19 branches throughout Japan, with additional offices, and locations in New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, London, and Beijing. The bank also operates through a variety of held subsidiaries including Norinchukin Trust & Banking Co., Ltd, Norinchukin Value Investments Co., Ltd, Norinchukin Research Institute Co., Ltd, Norinchukin Facilities Co., Ltd, Norinchukin Zenkyoren Asset Management Co., Ltd, The Agribusiness Investment & Consultation Co., Ltd., Daiichi Life Norinchukin Building Management Co., Ltd, and others with the most recent established subsidiary being Norinchukin Value Investments Co., Ltd. that holds over 400 million yen and was established in 2014. The Norinchukin Bank is headed by Chairman Akira Banzai and holds over $830 billion in total consolidated assets. The bank has over 3,400 employees and has over 3,700 total shareholders. The bank invests most heavily in the finance sector, which alone makes up almost half of its total asset allocations, and also invests in the information technology, consumer discretionary, health care, consumer staples, and industrials sectors, among others to a lesser degree, in order of decreasing allocation. Norinchukin Bank’s top 2 holdings in SPDR S&P 500 ETF Index and iShares Trust Core S&P 500 ETF each make up approximately a fifth of its holdings each.