ブックメーカー野球 Card, Inc.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., Ltd.

 

ブックメーカー野球 Card and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group
 to Form Strategic Alliance in Credit ブックメーカー野球 Business

 

TOKYO, July 27, 2007 – ブックメーカー野球 Card, Inc. (ブックメーカー野球, President and COO: Shinji Ebata), Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG, President: Teisuke Kitayama), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC, President: Masayuki Oku), and Sumitomo Mitsui Card, Co., Ltd. (SMCC, President: Koichi Tsukihara), in conjunction ofwithSMBC’s acquisition of ブックメーカー野球 stock, today reached an understanding toward forming a broad strategic alliance on credit card business, including establishment of “Strategy Development Committee” among top management and initiation of discussions.

1. Purpose of Understanding

In recent years, the credit ブックメーカー野球 industry has steadily expanded its market size, leveraging transition in the client’s life style and diversification in the means of settlement techniques, and is ; hasexpectedtocontinuedto growブックメーカー野球. At the same time, with thebusiness environment surrounding the industry dramatically changed–, the industry has reached a major turning point; accelerated consolidation aiming at increased managerial efficiencies and competencies, increased system-related investments due to development in technologies and services such as e-money, and sophisticated clients’ needs, and a revision toofthe Money-lending Business Restriction Law and possiblya review of the Installment Sales Law–the industry has reached a major turning point.

Based on such understanding of the environment, ブックメーカー野球 and the TThree SMFG group companies (SMFG, SMBC, and SMCC) agreed to position ブックメーカー野球 as the core strategic entity in SMFG’sthe group’s consumer financing business, and to inaugurate discussions for strategic alliance with close collaboration of management resources and operating base of ブックメーカー野球, SMCC and other SMFG group companies, for establishing the number-one credit card entity in Japan.

ブックメーカー野球, with its origin in retail business, has realized the best-in-class usage ratio byand expertise in acquiring, having nurtured as a credit ブックメーカー野球 company with a retail origin, people-oriented acquiringknow-howinincreasingcardholders, marketing and business models. SMFG group companies – SMBC,withanextensive client base, and SMCC with a vastnumber of SMCC’s member store networks and IT development capabilities–, will organically combine thesetheir strengths with those of ブックメーカー野球 andwillstrive to enhance each entity value and the comprehensive strength as a group. Also, with intent to establish the number-one credit ブックメーカー野球 entity in Japan, we will move ahead on our mid- and long-term business strategies including drastic business reorganization and consolidation, outside the conventional limit of existing frameworks.

2. Summary Description of Understanding

(1) Establishment of Strategy Development Committee

With intent to consummate the plan to establish the number one credit card entity in Japan, ブックメーカー野球 and the Tｔhree SMFG group companies will establish a “Strategy Development Committee” (Strategy Development) among our top managements, and will further discuss theamid- and long-term credit ブックメーカー野球 strategy, including brand strategy, ブックメーカー野球issuing,member-store acquiring, consolidation and strengthening of processing, and reorganization of group related businesses.

 

(2) Establishment of Committee for Individual AlliancePromotion

Along with the Strategy DevelopmentCommittee, a“Committeefor Individual Alliance Promotion” will be established to wewilldiscuss items where short-term synergies are expected, such as sharing ofmutualexploitation of client basemarketing channels, products and services, cooperation in office and system operations, etc., and will work on an early realization of an effectfruits of the allianceof the Individual Alliance.

(3) Exchanges of Personnel

In order to smoothly implement the purpose of the Understanding and enhance effectiveness of Individual Alliance and other interactions, ブックメーカー野球 and the TThree SMFGgroup companiesAffiliatesplans to actively second personnel as operating officers and employees.

(4) Maintenance of Cooperative Relationship with Daiei

ブックメーカー野球 and Daiei will maintain their cooperative relationship, along with the main purport of the “Memorandum of Understanding regarding Credit Card Transactions”, concluded in May 2007. Also, in discussing upon this Strategic Alliance, ブックメーカー野球 and SMFG group companies will make efforts to collaborate with existing partners, and encourage broad involvement of other group companies of SMFG than mentioned above.