The bank and the insurance company to be created through postal privatization next year will try to expand their operations to match those of their private-sector rivals, informed sources have said.
According to the outlines of their business plans, Yucho (Postal Savings) Bank and Kampo Life Insurance will eliminate or raise the 10 million yen ceiling per depositor and policyholder currently set for money to be put into postal savings and postal life insurance, the sources said.
The bank will seek to extend loans to individuals in addition to small and midsize enterprises, and the insurance firm plans to start offering medical insurance products, the sources said.
Yucho's assets will total around 226 trillion yen, while Kampo's will be around 114 trillion yen, surpassing those of the leading companies in each industry -- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Nippon Life Insurance Co., the sources said.
Japan Post will be split into four stock firms -- savings, insurance, mail and over-the-counter services -- on Oct. 1, 2007, under a holding company.
Japan Post Corp., which will be turned into the holding firm, will submit the business plans to Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Heizo Takenaka on Monday.
The banking and insurance industries are likely to criticize the plans and say the two companies' envisioned business models pose major threats to private sector corporations.
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