A (literally a "credit treasury") is a type of
Japanese
deposit institution.
They are cooperative regional financial institutions serving small and medium enterprises and local residents. Anyone who lives, works, or has an office in the region served by the bank can become a member. However, companies with over 300 employees are prohibited from membership.
The
Shinkin Central Bank serves as the
central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union,
and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central b ...
for the Shinkin banks. In this role it makes loans to and accepts deposits from Shinkin banks. The supervising authority is the
Financial Services Agency
The is a Japanese government agency and an integrated financial regulator responsible for overseeing banking, securities and exchange, and insurance sectors in order to ensure the stability of the financial system of Japan. The agency operate ...
.
Shinkin banks were founded in 1951. They were created to serve some of the same functions as
credit union
A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including deposit accounts, provisi ...
s, but can accept deposit from non-members (inside and outside their area) without limitation and make loans to the "graduated" (outgrew the membership qualifications) members.
As of March 2017, there were 264 Shinkin banks with $1,229 billion in deposits.
References
External links
Information from the Shinkin Central Bank
from Shinkin Central Bank Research Institute
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Banks of Japan