Resona Group Integrated Report 2026

The way of the world is beginning to change.

In the midst of these circumstances, the Resona Group made a decision. It is a decision to continue seeking “Our New Ways of Doing Business” that go beyond the financial framework under our new MMP.

On the other hand, the foundation upon which we stand remains unchanged. It is our aim to stay close to our customers, walk hand in hand with regional communities, and realize our Purpose, “Beyond Finance, for a Brighter Future.”

The Japanese economy has emerged from three decades of deflation, and a new era based on the premise of modest inflation is underway. As changes in social and industrial structures, the diversification of values, and technological advancements continue to accelerate, we are entering an era in which our customers’ financial conduct itself is undergoing significant changes.

Under these circumstances, we cannot expect sustainable growth simply by continuing to refine our existing business model. From now on, the question is whether we can become drivers who not only adapt to change but also create change ourselves. Now, the Group’s true worth is beginning to be tested.

The Group positioned the previous MMP as “the first 1,000 days of taking on corporate transformation (CX),” working on both the strengthening of value creation capabilities and development of next-generation management platforms. Through these initiatives, while we have made steady progress in revitalizing our earning power and establishing a management foundation for the next generation, we still are only halfway there. Of course, we will not settle for the status quo. Now, as monetary policy normalization progresses, it is crucial that we take steps to resolve the structural issues the Group has faced such as reforming our earnings structure for the next generation, breaking away from the high-cost structure inherent in retail finance, and capturing new profit opportunities through inorganic growth investment.

The Group’s irreplaceable assets include its more than 120-year history specializing in retail, our journey of revitalization and reform since 2003, and our 30,000 employees, who have continued to engage sincerely with customers. Building on these strengths and guided by the three drivers of integration—(1) the integration of “Finance” and “Beyond Finance,” (2) the integration of the “face-to-face” and “digital” channels, and (3) the integration of “human resources,” “generative AI,” and “data”—we are embarking on new challenges to achieve “Retail No.1,” as outlined in our Long-Term Vision.

No matter the circumstances, we will pioneer the future without fear of change. It is my responsibility and commitment as the Group’s top management to take the lead myself in establishing “Our New Ways of Doing Business” and “New Paths to Success” for the next generation of the Group.

The Group’s Purpose, “Beyond Finance, for a Brighter Future.” is more than just a philosophy or a slogan. Our Purpose is both the starting point for all the value we provide to society and the ultimate goal we strive to achieve.

What the Group aspires to achieve is: (1) a society brimming with vitality; (2) a society where people can live in happiness and prosperity, and; (3) a sustainable society that will endure for future generations. We also aim to help people move forward toward a better future with confidence and hope. We aspire to fulfill this mission irrespective of changes in society. We aim to enrich our customers’ futures as much as possible, bring peace of mind and hope to our regional communities, and tackle social issues head-on. This is our reason for being.

“Beyond Finance” does not mean moving away from finance. It means making the most of the inherent power of finance within a broader context. With finance as our foundation, we aim to create new value that traditional finance has been unable to deliver by combining expertise, know-how, products, and services that we do not currently possess with AI, data, and our local networks, thereby opening up new possibilities for our customers’ daily lives and the future of regional societies. Also, we do not view our efforts to address social issues as merely “add-on activities.” We believe that our initiatives to resolve our customers’ issues and address social issues are at the very heart of our business and serve as the driving force to bring about new progress in society.

In addition, our Purpose is not just for employees. Our Purpose shines even brighter when shared with our customers, regional communities, companies, shareholders, and investors, and when it resonates within society.

Through our long journey since 2003, we have learned the importance of never losing hope and continuing to walk the path of reform and challenge. Our Long-Term Vision of becoming “Retail No.1” does not simply mean becoming the top bank in terms of income or scale. The essence of this is to earn overwhelming support from SMEs and individual customers in Japan. To that end, we will continue to pursue a path of reform and challenges, without being unduly bound by conventional wisdom or existing values.

As a starting point for developing our new MMP, we have once again reviewed our Materiality. Of course, it is not about simply organizing social issues. Starting from our Purpose and then back-casting from “The Future Society We Hope to Realize” which we envision, it has identified the areas we should prioritize and the issues we ourselves need to tackle.

It is also meant to reconfirm the principle of management decision-making, articulating which issues we will address over the medium-to-long term, how we will allocate management resources, and how we will achieve both social and economic values in tandem.

We will advance value creation centered on the four domains: (1) Development and vitalization of regional societies through industrial growth; (2) Creation of next generation retail finance; (3) Realization of security and abundance in daily life amid declining birth rates and aging societies; and (4) Realization of an abundant future society spanning future generations. And, to further accelerate our progress toward this “Future Society We Hope to Realize,” we have redefined two management foundation issues, namely, (1) strengthening human capital, and (2) establishing resilient governance, as Materiality, and will strive for further advancement.

In revising our Materiality at this time, we strongly focused on the relationship between Materiality and our business, as well as its timeframe. First, by looking ahead to how society and our customers will look in five and ten years and anticipating the changes that will occur, we are reaffirming the Group’s core strengths and clarifying the areas where we aspire to make a contribution through our business. Based on this, we aim to enhance the Group’s competitiveness and value creation capabilities by expanding social capital, advancing human and intellectual capital, and making optimal use of financial capital.

Above all, human capital is the starting point of all our business activities. No matter how much technology evolves, it is our human resources who are the first to notice changes in our customers, who deeply empathize with their issues, and who ultimately optimize solutions. Of course, generative AI and data are certainly noteworthy as tools for expanding human potential, but they are not a substitute for the excellence that humans possess. At the same time, we believe that the benefits derived from the integration of human resources with generative AI and data will have a significant impact on the Group’s future competitiveness. That is precisely why strategic initiatives across the entire group are essential, and we believe it is also crucial to create an environment where every employee can learn, take on challenges, and pursue growth.

Whatever the case, Materiality is not merely a direction, but our clear intention and determination. We intend to continue placing it at the core of our management and ensure that it is fully reflected in all decision-making, resource allocation, and risk assessments.

Starting in FY2026, we launched our new MMP, “Shift to the Next Stage — Three Years to Create Our New Ways of Doing Business.” As the business environment undergoes significant changes, we regard these three years as a period in which we will go beyond the framework of finance, drive change ourselves, and take on the challenge of creating “Our New Ways of Doing Business.”

During the previous MMP period, as monetary policy normalization progressed, the entire Group worked together not only to ensure the smooth provision of funds but also to offer a wide range of solutions tailored to our customers’ specific issues. Meanwhile, by revitalizing our “earning power,” which is driven primarily by two engines, namely, net interest income and fee income, and by persistently pursuing structural reforms as the other pillar of our strategy, Resona Holdings’ consolidated net income exceeded 250 billion yen for the first time in 13 fiscal years.

The new MMP aims to maintain this positive trend while targeting new record-high profits in real terms. Although it has taken time since 2003, we have put the past behind us as a milestone and are embarking on new challenges to achieve our Long-Term Vision of becoming “Retail No.1.”

We have set financial targets such as 1 trillion yen gross operating profit, a 12% ROE, and an OHR in the 40% range as benchmarks we aim to achieve as early as possible during the plan period, while further enhancing our ability to deliver value to customers and advancing structural reforms for the next generation.

The MMP consists of three pillars.

The first pillar is “Growth in core businesses.” As the Japanese economy reaches a major turning point on the path to restarting growth, the Group’s reason for being and the core of our new MMP is to continue providing sustained support for Japan’s growth and the revitalization of regional economies through the smooth funding and the provision of advanced solutions. To provide strong support for these initiatives, it is now crucial to advance and enhance the quality of ALM. Specifically, while maintaining and expanding our stable and highly sticky deposits base, we will work to optimize our investment rate in line with changing times. At the same time, we will aim to transition toward an earnings structure that is not overly dependent on the interest rate environment over the next five to ten years by further expanding non-interest income, including recurring and asset-based incomes, through measures such as further strengthening our solution capabilities and expanding our financial digital platform.

The second pillar is “Creating next-generation growth drivers.” In this time of change, we must continue to meet our customers’ increasingly diverse, sophisticated, and complex needs appropriately and promptly in order to remain a financial group of choice. To that end, we recognize that it is essential to acquire and strengthen new insights, know-how, functions, services, customer bases, and capabilities that will support the Group’s continued growth.

Based on this, with the integration of “Finance” and “Beyond Finance” as our key focus, we aim to create new customer experiences and deliver unprecedented value to our customers.

As one example, in our relationship with Digital Garage, Inc., with whom we have formed a strategic business alliance, we will not only strengthen our collaboration in the areas of settlement and digital marketing but also accelerate a wide range of joint initiatives in new fields, including FinTech. By combining the Group’s customer base and financial functions with Digital Garage’s technology and extensive network, we will pursue “New Ways of Doing Business” that lead to “Beyond Finance.”

In addition, in May 2026, we announced a capital and business alliance between the Resona Group and the JR West Group. We aim to provide customers primarily in the Kansai region with a new customer experience that integrates “transportation,” “daily life,” and “finance.” While our goals include rolling out BaaS functions based on a regional value cycle, expanding settlement capabilities, and promoting community development, we aim to offer new options in the Kansai region, one of our key markets.

In May 2026, we also announced the launch of “Resona Plus,” a new service for individuals offered through a partnership with the Daiichi Life Group and JCB. Based on the concept of integrating “finance” and “daily life,” this is a new initiative designed to provide our customers with unprecedented levels of “convenience,” “value,” and “peace of mind,” starting from the context of their daily lives. We will build a new ecosystem that connects individual customers, partner stores, and businesses with regional communities to enrich our customers’ lives.

These initiatives signal that the financial digital platform we have been strengthening is entering a new phase. We will continue to evolve into a fully-fledged financial platform that is more attractive and competitive than ever through collaboration with partners that extend beyond the boundaries of finance.

The third pillar is “Structural reforms of management platforms.” Structural reform refers to CX. It represents a fundamental update to our management foundation itself and a new challenge to evolve into a robust company capable of adapting to the changing times. In particular, the advanced utilization of “human resources,” “generative AI,” and “data” is crucial. Strengthening these initiatives will transform the customer experience, provide new value to our customers, and lead to further improvements in the Group’s productivity. Then, through internal digital transformation and the dismantling and restructuring of business processes, a full-scale reallocation of management resources, which have long been fixed, will begin. Specifically, we will reallocate our human resources to serve as the point of contact with customers and as drivers of new profit opportunities. Meanwhile, we are still in the early stages of utilizing generative AI, and we will proceed with its implementation under AI governance, prioritizing safety and security.

We will channel the results derived from these three pillars, namely, (1) Growth in core businesses, (2) Creating next-generation growth drivers, and (3) Structural reforms of management platforms, into a capital circulation aimed at maximizing the Group’s corporate value. While maintaining financial soundness, we will work on growth investment through both organic growth and inorganic growth alongside shareholder returns, in a well-balanced manner. In addition, we aim for sustainable improvement in corporate value by effectively utilizing and circulating capital, thereby facilitating further growth investments and expanded reproduction.

In the new MMP, we will continue to pursue improved corporate value as a market valuation by improving ROE and reducing the cost of capital simultaneously. Under the new MMP, we are targeting an ROE of 12% on the assumption of a policy interest rate of 1%, and an ROE of 14% should the policy interest rate rise to 1.5%. From the perspective of reducing the cost of capital, we intend to expedite the establishment of a high-quality, stable earnings structure that meets the expectations of our stakeholders while appropriately managing risk, and to demonstrate further growth. Moreover, alongside strengthening our sustainability initiatives, we will actively work to expand both financial and non-financial disclosures so that the Group’s sustainability will be widely understood.

My role as a management executive is to evolve the Group’s approach to value creation in step with the times and to maximize corporate value.

Without resting on our past successes, I want to continue to value an attitude of connecting with outstanding external insights, keeping a close eye on the changing times, and constantly asking myself, “Is this really good enough?” Then, without being overly bound by traditional values and conventions, we will aim to create “Our New Ways of Doing Business” and “New Paths to Success” that go beyond the boundaries of finance, while keeping our eyes on what lies beyond change.

On the other hand, there are things we must protect, no matter how much times may change. That is to strive, based on the foundation of integrity, to be a “good company,” to continue to empathize with our customers’ issues, to continue to walk hand in hand with our regional communities, and to steadfastly uphold the Group’s unchanging core principle, “Customers’ happiness is our pleasure.”

The new MMP serves as a compass guiding the Group toward the next stage, but it is the determination and perseverance of each of our 30,000 employees that creates true value. Then, each of these individual efforts builds upon the others to enhance our organizational capabilities, evolve our products, services, and functions, and lead us toward the goal of “Our New Ways of Doing Business.”

The Group will continue to evolve into a financial group that provides robust support for Japan’s growth and the vitalization of regional communities. Then, through the three integrations, namely, the integration of “Finance” and “Beyond Finance,” the integration of “Face-to-face” and “Digital,” and the integration of “human resources,” “generative AI,” and “data,” we aim to create “Our New Ways of Doing Business,” which goes beyond the traditional framework of finance.

At Resona Group, we persistently strive towards reform and creativity for a brighter future—one that is hopeful and reassuring, just as it is exciting. We look forward to your continued support and encouragement.