Hokuhoku Financial Group, Inc.

The Digital Currency Innovation Institute, a general incorporated association working to standardize tokenized deposits, held a press conference in Tokyo on September 25 and announced it will begin full-scale operations on October 1. Former Administrative Vice Minister of Finance and lawyer Eijiro Katsu will serve as representative director, former Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will serve as executive advisor, and Hiromi Yamaoka, former head of the BOJ's Payment and Settlement Systems Department and chair of the predecessor Digital Currency Forum, will serve as deputy representative director. The institute was formed by reorganizing and developing the Digital Currency Forum, which was launched in 2020, and was established as a corporate entity in July this year. It aims to establish common rules for systems that tend to differ from bank to bank and to expand use in inter-company remittances and payments. The institute will operate through three committees: a banking committee, a technology committee, and a user committee, and its directors include executive officers from major financial institutions such as SBI Shinsei Bank, GMO Aozora Net Bank, and MUFG Bank. Regarding DCJPY, Japan Post Bank will maintain its plan to issue it during fiscal 2026, while Hokuriku Bank plans to move toward commercialization in its payment business, and more than 40 companies have so far decided to join the institute or are considering doing so.

Hokuhoku Financial Group announced on the 24th that it will implement a 10-for-1 stock split with a record date of September 30. The move aims to improve stock liquidity and broaden its investor base, with the effective date set for October 1. The company also revealed that it will revise the shareholding requirements for its shareholder benefits program, effectively easing the conditions and expanding the program.