The Eighteenth Bank

Oct 30, 2018

Shinwa Bank and Eighteenth Bank to postpone merger for six months Change of Imperial era will boost load on computer system during integration Nikkei staff writers October 30, 2018 13:05 JST Eighteenth Bank, the largest bank in Nagasaki Prefecture, is set to merge with Fukuoka Financial Group, parent of Shinwa Bank, Nagasaki's second largest bank. TOKYO -- Shinwa Bank, a regional bank based in Nagasaki Prefecture, and Eighteenth Bank , the biggest bank in the prefecture, will delay their merger for six months from the initially scheduled date of April 2020, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. While Shinwa Bank, a member of the Fukuoka Financial Group , and Eighteenth Bank plan to integrate their computer systems after the merger, burdens on their sections in charge are expected to increase more than usual as Japan will change the name of the Imperial era on May 1 next year. The two banks decided to proceed with their merger carefully so as to avoid computer system failures while maintaining convenience for customers. Fukuoka Financial and Eighteenth Bank will merge in April 2019 as scheduled. The merger between Fukuoka Financial and Eighteenth Bank was initially planned to be followed by the Shinwa Bank-Eighteenth Bank marriage a year later. But the latter deal will be postponed to October 2020. Fukuoka Financial and Eighteenth Bank will officially endorse the delay at their respective board meetings on Tuesday and include it in their final merger agreement. Mergers usually involve computer system changes during the three consecutive holidays after New Year or the Golden Week holiday season from late April until early May. Shinwa Bank and Eighteenth Bank earlier planned to complete the integration of their computer systems in May 2020, among other dates. But they agreed to delay the move to January 2021, out of concern about the increased load on the computer system due in part to the era name change following Emperor Akihito's abdication. See Also