Research on the merger’s history of bank in the wartime

-A consideration focusing on the “Daihyaku-bank” that was elucidated because of the merger discussion-

Abstract

On April 1 in 1943, Mitsui-bank and Daiichi bank merged on equal terms, thus starting Teikoku bank and Mitsubishi bank merged with Daihyaku bank, thus starting Mitsubishi bank. Its purpose was to have cooperated the Japanese government that raised fonds to be used for military in the Pacific war. The newspaper articles that each four banks proceeded with merger discussion on a voluntary basis. However, when comparing the combination of mergers of these banks, the position of Daihyaku bank is extremely disadvantageous, so it is difficult to imagine that Daihyaku bank decided to merge voluntarily.

Therefore, we first sorted through newspapers and economic magazines published immediately after the bank merger was settled. Next, we collected materials on bank mergers that became apparent after the war, and compared and analyzed the differences with the contents of mergers announced during the war.

As a result, unlike the merger between Mitsui bank and Daiichi bank, we could not find any evidence that the Daihyaku bank actively pursued merger negotiations with Mitsubishi bank. In other words, it is possible that a third party, rather than a party to the merger, took center stage in the merger concept, whereas at least the management of Daihyaku bank was left out of the loop.