Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Financial to Start Shareholder Services

(Bloomberg) -- Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. will team up with IR Japan Holdings Ltd. to start offering shareholder services, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The nation’s second-largest lender will create the stock transfer agency business at its trust banking unit in partnership with the investor relations firm, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter isn’t public.

Sumitomo Mitsui is starting the service -- which helps companies track and identify investors -- due to the rise in initial public offerings in Japan, the people said.

Representatives at SMBC Trust Bank Ltd., the unit that will offer shareholder services, and IR Japan declined to comment. 

Some Japanese banks already offer shareholder services. Traditionally, they have been confined to low-key operations such as keeping shareholder lists and other clerical work, but some providers are expanding their offering to help corporate clients handle activist investors and hostile buyouts.

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