History and Heritage

Over four centuries of tradition

The history of the Sumitomo and Mitsui companies date back more than four centuries with both starting as family businesses in Japan. Later, they both become banks – Mitsui in Tokyo in 1876 and Sumitomo in Osaka in 1895. The first European branch of Sumitomo Bank opened in London in 1918.

SMBC was established in 2001 following the merger of Sumitomo and Sakura banks, the latter was formed following the earlier mergers of Mitsui, Taiyo and Kobe banks.

MORE THAN A CENTURY OF CONNECTING EUROPE WITH ASIA

With a presence in London since 1918, SMBC Group’s predecessors – Sumitomo and Mitsui – were two of the earliest Japanese banks to operate in Europe. Over the century, the bank has focused on acting as a reliable partner for its European customers. It opened a representative office in Düsseldorf in 1969, and expanded its presence further throughout the 1970s and 1980s with offices in Brussels, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Frankfurt and Dublin, and finally Amsterdam in 1990. When central and eastern Europe transitioned to free-market economies in the early 1990s, SMBC Group was one of the first foreign financial institutions to be active in the region. An office opened in Prague in 2008.

OUR HISTORY

Our institution has roots that trace back more than 400 years, and the EMEA Division of SMBC has more than a century of experience in Europe and more than 40 years in both the Middle East and Africa.

• 1590 Sumitomo family business commences

• 1673 Mitsui family business commences

• 1876 Mitsui Bank is established

• 1895 Sumitomo Bank is established

• 1918 London branch of Sumitomo Bank opens

• 1924 London branch of Mitsui Bank opens

• 1969 Düsseldorf representative office of Sumitomo Bank opens

• 1971 Düsseldorf representative office of Mitsui Bank opens
  Brussels branch of Sumitomo Bank opens

• 1975 Cairo representative office of Sumitomo Bank opens

• 1979 Madrid and Bahrain representative offices of Sumitomo Bank open

• 1982 Milan and Paris representative offices of Sumitomo Bank open
  Brussels branch of Mitsui Bank opens

• 1983 Frankfurt representative office of Sumitomo Bank opens

• 1986 Sumitomo Capital Markets is established in London

• 1989 Sumitomo Bank is listed on the London Stock Exchange
  Sumitomo Finance Dublin is established

• 1990 Amsterdam representative office of Sumitomo Bank opens

• 1991 Istanbul representative office of Sumitomo Bank opens

• 1992 Sakura Bank is established following the earlier mergers of Mitsui, Taiyo and Kobe banks

• 1996 Johannesburg representative office of Sumitomo Bank opens

• 2001 Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation is formed by the merger of Sumitomo and Sakura banks

• 2003 Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Limited begins operations

• 2004 Abu Dhabi representative office opens

• 2005 Moscow representative office opens

• 2007 Dubai DIFC branch opens

• 2008 Doha QFC office opens
  Prague representative office opens

• 2009 JSC Sumitomo Mitsui Rus Bank is established in Moscow

• 2017 SMBC Bank EU AG is established in Frankfurt

• 2018 SMBC Advisory Services Saudi Arabia LLC is established in Riyadh

• 2020 SMBC Bank International plc is formed following the re-registration and renaming of
  Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Limited