M essage from the President

Aiming to become a “Frontrunner”
that helps our customers and local
community
The Juroku Bank Ltd. was established in
October 1877. Since its establishment, The
Juroku Bank has continued growing
together with the local community for 144
years.
Then on October 1, 2021, The Juroku
Bank established Juroku Financial Group,
Inc. for the purpose of transforming its
business model to a provider ofcomprehensive financial services to theregion, and made a transition to a holding
company structure.
The transition to a holding company
structure marked a major reorganizationthat can be described as a second founding.
What prompted the decision to make thistransition was the changing environment
surrounding regional financial institutions.
The environment surrounding regional
financial institutions has changed
significantly, with the prolonging lowinterest policy, intensifying competition
across industries and business categories,
and increasing uncertainty. Amid thesefactors, it has become difficult to accurately
anticipate what lies ahead, and financial
institutions are being required to conduct
management by assuming that they cannot
anticipate the future. In suchcircumstances, it is becoming difficult to
expect the so-called deposit and loanbusiness which has supported our growthto achieve high growth, in terms of bothrevenue and function. In a prolonged lowinterest environment, banks are facing
difficulty in increasing revenue forbusinesses centered on deposits and loans.
Meanwhile, regarding growth as simply

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procuring funds and aiming at businessexpansion is a thing of the past.
Given a shrinking population and theimminent maturity phase, regional
institutions are required to not only lendmoney, but also to mull over the customer’svision together with them and provide
added value, in order to demonstrate thevalue of our existence.
We believe that, going forward, it will
be vital to make efforts for the growth of
our customers and the local community
through the initiatives for sustainability,
carbon neutrality, SDGs, and regional
revitalization, as well as the provision of
comfortable services that support digitaltransformation (DX), by not only
demonstrating our financial intermediaryfunctions but also leveraging the strengthsof a regional financial institution consistingof regional human resources, informationand network.
Through the transition to a holding
company structure, we strive to expand ourbusiness domain such as by establishing
new businesses, strengthen collaborationand optimize the allocation of resources
within the Group by reforming the thinking
and behavior of our officers and employees,
enhance auditing and supervisory functions,and accelerate business execution.
By leveraging the benefits of such aholding company structure and becoming a“Frontrunner” that helps our customers andthe local community, we will contribute to
the realization of a sustainable society.

Juroku Financial Group, Inc.

Naoki Ikeda
Representative Director and President

3Our Mission is to “Achieve Growth and Prosperity for Our Customers and the Local Community”
In making a transition to a holding company structure, we
inherited the basic philosophy of The Juroku Bank and newly
formulated our group management philosophy.
As the basic philosophy of The Juroku Bank had long been
inherited, our group management philosophy is placed as thefundamental spirit of the Juroku Financial Group and thefoundation for all of our officers’ and employees’ activities so that
it will be inherited for many decades.
Our Mission as the highest concept, which is also the purposeof the Juroku Financial Group in the region, would be “achieving
growth and prosperity for our customers and the local
community.” Considering the Group’s purpose in the region, it is
to contribute to the sustainable growth and development of ourcustomers and the local community. We will not survive if we are
not needed by the local community. In order to express ourcommitment to our customers and the local community, we madeour Mission to be “achieving growth and prosperity for ourcustomers and the local community.”
Our Vision for achieving our Mission is to be aGroup“comprehensive financial group that builds a future with local
communities and achieves sustainable growth with local
economies.” With the recent rise in momentum toward SDGs and
ESG, initiatives for sustainability have become important. We set
our Vision to be a “comprehensive financial group that builds afuture with local communities and achieves sustainable growthwith local economies” in order to contribute to the realization of asustainable society or to make proactive efforts on a Group-widebasis.
In addition, our Values, the organization’s common values
which form the foundation of our Mission and Vision, consist of“Trust & Integrity,” “Creation & Innovation,” and “Diversity &Inclusion.”
Regional financial institutions and local communities sharethe same destiny. We believe that it is important to act as though
the matter is our own concern so as to contribute to “achieving
growth and prosperity for our customers and the local community”
with our group management philosophy as the foundation at all
times.

Achieving growthand prosperity for

Missionour customers andthe local community

Management

We aspire to be a comprehensive
financial group that builds afuture with local communities
and achieves sustainablegrowth with local economies

Philosophy

in order to contribute to the realization of a

VisionValuesCode of
Conduct

Code of
Conduct

sustainable society.

Trust &
Integrity

Creation &Innovation

Diversity &Inclusion

We will act with integrity tosecure the trust and business of
our customers and the local
community

We will respond to every changewith innovation anddetermination, and create newvalue for the next generation.

We will maximize our group’s
strengths by embracing
individuality and leveraging
diversity.

Engagement Cycle
Taking on the challenges faced by our customers
and local communities, and resolving them together.

Juroku Financial Group: Creating the future of the region together

To be Needed and Respected by the Local Community
Many of our customers in Gifu and Aichi prefectures, the main areas
where the Group operates, prefer sound management. As such, weare required to provide them not only cash flow support programs
but also core business support tailored to their individual situations.

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In particular, in the current situation where a post-COVID-19
pandemic world is anticipated, we feel that expectations for theGroup are shifting to support other than the provision of funds.
For example, in the region concerned where manufacturing

thrives, many customers face the challenge of business succession
as they lack successors. From about 20 years ago, The Juroku Bankhas been supporting business succession. Looking at the present
situation, we believe that we need to further enhance this service.
In addition, we feel that recently there has been an increasing
number of customers who are aware of carbon neutral issues andrequire support. The Group entered into a business alliance with aconsulting firm that has knowledge in carbon neutrality mattersand started providing consulting services to support customers’
decarbonization management.
Other than these issues, we will grasp the needs of our customers

as a regional comprehensive financial group to provide detailed
custom-made responses to solve issues, including responses to SDGs
and human resource referrals.
The Group proactively takes such initiatives because it has asound sense of urgency that the Group will not be able to survive
in this region going forward unless it is “needed and respected by
the local community.”
We believe that it is essential for us to share issues of interest
with customers in a timely manner, such as business succession,
carbon neutrality and SDGs, and appropriately provide services,
also for the purpose of our own sustainable growth.

Expanding Business Domains to Take on New Challenges
In order to be “needed and respected by the local community,” weare seeking to be the “Frontrunner” of the region while aiming at
helping our customers and the local community more than ever.
Under the holding company structure, the Group has worked
to support its customers’ core businesses by concentrating theGroup’s management resources, while at the same time creating abusiness structure that can respond flexibly to changes in thebusiness environment as a “Frontrunner” of the region.
On April 1, 2021, ahead of the transition to a holding
company structure, NOBUNAGA Capital Village Co., Ltd. wasestablished as a company specializing in investment for the
purpose of actively supporting and nurturing venture companies.
In addition, on March 1, 2022, Juroku Computer Service Co.,
Ltd. was made a joint venture withDensan System Holdings Co., Ltd.
and commenced operations as thedigital transformation company Juroku
Densan Digital Service Co., Ltd., withthe aim of promoting digitalizationand digital transformation of regional
companies and local governments
and improving the Group’s digitaltransformation capabilities.
Moreover, on April 1, 2022,
the community development
company Kanda Machi Okoshi Co.,
Ltd. was established with a view
to further promoting consulting forregional total design and regional
revitalization. Through theseand other initiatives, the Group
has steadily created a businessstructure to expand its businessdomains.

Juroku Densan Digital Service and Kanda Machi Okoshi wereboth established with a license of a non-banking service
enhancement company stipulated in the amended Banking Act
which took effect in November 2021, and will be able to engage
in a wider range of operations.
We firmly believe that these companies which were
established around the time of transition to a holding company
structure will definitely grow to become companies that help
customers and the local community.
Now that the Group has developed its business structure, we
intend to use the fruits of our efforts to take on the challenge ofvarious financial businesses to achieve growth and prosperity forour customers and the local community.

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Nurturing Human Resources to Break Out of the Shell of Banking

Growing Together with Partners in the Relationship of Trust and Mutual Understanding

We believe that, in order to break out of the conventional businessmodel centered on the deposit and loan business and maximize
group synergy to evolve into a “provider of comprehensive
financial services to the region,” it is paramount to nurture“human resources” since they comprise the Group’s largest andconstant management resource.
We need to further nurture human resources that can endeavor
to build strong relations with customers and solve a wide range ofissues, such as human resources that can work actively for the sakeof customers by involving many people both within and outside of
the Group.
It is certainly convenient to have non-face-to-face contact
points such as online interviews which have been widely
conducted following the spread of COVID-19. However, we are

We recognize that there are several patterns of a growth strategy
that regional financial institutions will likely follow to expand
businesses.
One pattern is management integration in the same industry
that expands scale through a merger with other banks and othermeans. The other pattern is a business alliance in the same
industry to find synergies in the alliance with another bank. These
strategies are chosen by various regional financial institutions. We
have chosen the third path of cooperation between different
industries that deepens alliance with different industries with aview to achieving growth through business cooperation andestablishment of joint ventures.
We believe that such cooperation between different industries
is an essential strategy for aiming at becoming a more sustainable
and stronger regional comprehensive financial group that breaks
out of the shell of the conventional business model centered on thedeposit and loan business, while leveraging our major strengths.
These strengths consist of an “extensive and deep customer base,”“information accumulated on a daily basis,” and the “extensive
human network” which we have built over the course of ourhistory.
For example, Juroku Tokai Tokyo Securities Co., Ltd. (“Juroku
TT Securities”) commenced operations through a joint venturewith Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings, Inc. in June 2019. Whileintent on nurturing human resources whom people would like tomeet and consult in person.
To that end, we are focusing our efforts on “nurturing humanresources that can build relationships of trust with customers”
through training sessions for young and mid-career employees,
including shifting from the conventional input-type to outputtype approach.
In addition, we will carry out “active inter-Group personnel
exchange including young and mid-career employees,” and the“active and appropriate appointment to higher posts,” in an effort
to revitalize the organization and further strengthen Group
cooperation.
Upon the start of operations of Juroku Densan Digital Service
and Kanda Machi Okoshi, in-house job posting was implemented
mainly for young employees. As a result, a total of 130 people
applied for the two companies, far exceeding the capacity limit.
Seeing these results, we feel very encouraged by how highly
motivated employees were to advance their careers. In addition, we
also realized that the message that the Group is breaking out of
the shell of the banking-centered business with the aim to become
a “provider of comprehensive financial services to the region” isspreading among young employees as well.
Going forward, it will be essential to nurture a large numberof human resources to “break out of the shell of banking,” and tothat end, it is necessary to “nurture human resources that brokeout of the shell of conventions.” We will engage in these efforts as
the most important management task.

putting into practice high-value-added proposals through banksecurities cooperation with The Juroku Bank, Juroku TT
Securities has produced strong results, such as substantially
increasing both the number of accounts and the deposit asset
balance.
Going forward, we will enhance corporate value as a
“Frontrunner” that helps our customers and the local community
through cooperation with partners with whom we can growtogether based on a relationship of trust and mutual
understanding.

Management integrationin the same industry

Sameindustry

Business
Expansion
as a Growth
StrategyManagement integration
Business alliance in thesame industry

Business alliance
Cooperation between
different industries

Different
industry

Cooperation/
joint venture

Risky to Change. Riskier Not to Change.
Enhancing Sustainability of Local Communities
Words like sustainability, carbon neutrality and SDGs have now
become common around the world, and we are being required tomeet various social expectations in our activities as a regional
comprehensive financial group.
The Group has formulated the Sustainability Policy as its basic
policy on sustainability initiatives.
In addition, in the Juroku Financial Group SDGs Declarationthat was established to coincide with the establishment of theCompany, five key challenges (Materiality) were established topromote various initiatives in line with the declaration.

The proactive promotion of these initiatives by officers andemployees together will likely lead to enhanced sustainability ofsociety and achievement of growth and prosperity for ourcustomers and the local community.
Putting into broad perspective “how daily activities affect thewhole society” will make companies and individuals recognize
their own purpose.
We are now at a major 50-year turning point in the industrial
structure centered on carbon neutrality, and all officers andemployees will make every effort to conduct activities that enhance
the sustainability of the local community.

Sustainability Policy
The Juroku Financial Group recognizes sustainability initiatives to be an important management issue. We will strive to solve various social
issues such as climate change through our core business of a “provider of comprehensive financial services to the region” and contribute to“achieving growth and prosperity for our customers and the local community,” which is our group management philosophy, while aiming at
sustainable growth and enhancing corporate value of the Group.

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Amid substantial changes in the environment surrounding
regional financial institutions, our ability to respond to theuncertain changes in environment is being put to the test.
We will not be able to ride out the waves of change with thehalf-hearted approach which we have taken so far of keeping what
is good and changing what needs to be changed. As a
“Frontrunner” of regional reform, we need to be prepared tochange the status quo without hesitation and bring about new
innovations based on flexible ideas free from preconceived notions.
“Risky to change. Riskier not to change.” These are the wordsof John W. Young, an astronaut who reached the moon in the
Apollo Program, which was a moon landing project proposed by
U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1961.
We believe that, as a regional comprehensive financial group,
we may be exposed to greater risk if we do not change in this day
and age. Although we may fail if we take on a new challenge, weneed to change in order to become a sustainable organization.
The Apollo program was thought to be unviable at the time
but the aspirations of the American people were brought together
to successfully achieve the goal.

This “Moon Shot” was able to unify the aspirations of theAmerican people because the project was highly original andinnovative, and also the goal was appealing and inspiring.
In an age of the new normal, social demands toward corporate
activities are expected to rise in the future. However, it is in thesetimes that we need to keep asking ourselves what our purpose is.
We have a major goal of “achieving growth and prosperity forthe people of this region where we were born, brought up andsupported.”
Although this is a grand and highly impactful goal, toward
this goal, we will aim to become a “Frontrunner” that helps ourcustomers and the local community with a sense of joy and pride
that we can achieve this ourselves by using backcasting in ourdaily activities.
We ask you to look forward to “the Juroku Financial Group
creating the future of the region together” and also would greatly
appreciate your continued support.

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