Japan eBank Corp to open U.S Office

WASHINGTON, USA: The Federal Reserve Board said on Wednesday it approved an application by Japanese Internet banking firm eBank Corp to open a U.S. representative office in San Francisco.

EBank, with total assets of about $6.1 billion, is an Internet-only bank that provides deposit accounts and related services to Japanese residents.

The Fed said eBank's proposed U.S. representative office would research technology related to Internet banking, identify business technology opportunities with banks and other companies, and identify investment opportunities in the United States for the bank's dollar-denominated deposits in Japan.

The eBank representative office will not solicit deposits in the United States, the Fed said.

The Development Bank of Japan, a government entity, is the online bank's largest shareholder with a 14.91 percent stake, according to the Fed.

NTT Finance Corp holds 6.16 percent, including an indirect 5.33 percent stake by Citigroup Inc. The bank's founder and president, Taiichi Matsuo, owns 6.47 percent, the Fed said.

Until now, the bank's only outside office has been in Hong Kong.

The bank offers asset securitization advice, research services, and investment administration services, as well as management of mutual funds offered online to Japanese investors through a wholly-owned subsidiary.

The Fed said like other Japanese banks, eBank is subject to home country supervision on a consolidated basis by the Japanese Financial Services Agency, a requirement for a foreign bank to open an office in the United States.