Sumitomo Bank has "severely reprimanded" an employee in connection with the alleged bribing of Finance Ministry officials, the bank said April 6.
The bank also said it will cut the salaries of five executives, including Chairman Toshio Morikawa and President Yoshifumi Nishikawa, by between 5 percent and 20 percent for three months.
Sumitomo is the first of five commercial banks whose employees have been given summary indictments for bribing ministry officials in the form of wining and dining in order to seek secret information or other favors. Three ministry officials allegedly received bribes worth a total of 2 million yen from Sumitomo Bank.
The reprimanded employee, Yukihiko Onishi, was a "MOF-tan," or an official designated to regularly contact the Ministry of Finance. This special position has been abolished and he has been transferred within Sumitomo's Tokyo office, the bank said. Wining and dining of ministry officials was part of a MOF-tan's job and appears to be the reason why Onishi has not faced more severe punishment, such as dismissal.