Japan's so-called Big Bang financial reform is a long time in coming, but foreign financial institutions are well prepared to meet the challenge, according to the head of the Tokyo office of ING Barings Securities Japan.

Branch manager Rike Wootten said in a recent interview that he expects the Big Bang -- a sweeping effort to bring Tokyo's financial and capital markets closer to global standards -- to create a more competitive market for deposits in the years ahead. Wootten, who assumed his post in September, noted that while some additional reform measures could be taken, such as those that would enhance faster approval for new financial products, on the whole the Big Bang is "a very welcome event."

"I think in the course of the next several years we are likely to see substantially more competition coming from foreign (brokerage) houses" in the Japanese market thanks to the deregulation thrust, he said. Foreign financial institutions have steadily expanded their business in Japan, especially over the past few years, despite infamously high costs for office space and personnel as well as strict regulations.