(Excerpt)
(Tuesday, December 17, 2024, 8:32 am to 8:35 am)
- Q.
-
My question is about the cases of theft from safe-deposit boxes by a former employee of Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Ltd. Yesterday, the bank held a press conference and apologized for the cases. The bank's president announced that the bank will consider dispositions for relevant executives. What response measures does the Financial Services Agency (FSA) expect the bank to take? Could you explain what the FSA will request from the bank?
- A.
-
As I have mentioned earlier, customers' trust is very important for banks in taking custody of their deposits and property. In that sense, the recent theft cases that occurred at Mitsubishi UFJ Bank are very regrettable.
It is important for the bank to take the cases seriously and sincerely respond to victimized customers, and at the same time, to clarify the whole picture of the cases, investigate the causes, and consider recurrence prevention measures based on the found facts. Therefore, yesterday, the FSA requested the bank to report the status of measures taken for victimized customers, analysis of the cause of this incident, and measures to prevent recurrence in the future based on the Banking Act. The FSA will closely watch whether the bank endeavors to consider and take even better measures. - Q.
-
Regarding the same issue, there is a possibility that safe-deposit boxes are used wrongfully, such as for money laundering or tax evasion. Could you explain your view on how to improve the safe-deposit box business itself?
- A.
-
I think that the recent theft cases were caused by inappropriate management of safe-deposit boxes, and I would like banks to strengthen and ensure proper management.
Concerning the issue of money laundering or the like, I do not know exactly how such misconduct could be committed by the use of safe-deposit box services. Therefore, I will refrain from making any comments here.
