Japan's Mizuho Bank Opening New Type of Branch

Yokohama, March 13 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Mizuho Bank is opening a new type of branch at train stations, shopping facilities and other locations in a bid to attract new customers.

The "Atorie"-type branch focuses on helping customers build personal assets. The bank hopes that people will stop by Atorie branches casually during shopping or at odd times.

An Atorie branch that opened Thursday at a shopping facility in Yokohama, near Tokyo, features an area in which visitors can simulate how much money they will need over their lifetime.

The new branch type is staffed by around seven to 10 people and mainly offers asset management-related consultations, such as on the Nippon Individual Savings Account, or NISA, tax-exempt investment program.

Mizuho Bank plans to convert around 70 of its roughly 140 branches for retail customers in the country into the Atorie type over the next three to five years.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]