Hajime Yamada
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined Mitsubishi Bank in 1937. He spent the postwar reconstruction and high-growth years inside the bank and became Deputy President in December 1974. A career employee, he worked nowhere but Mitsubishi Bank in the 41 years before becoming President. He was promoted from Deputy President to President in January 1978.
Selection
In January 1978 he succeeded Toshio Nakamura as President, promoted after three years as Deputy President. Earlier, Mitsubishi Bank had been approached about acquiring the US Bank of California but passed, judging that it had not developed the people internally, leaving open the question of how to build a workforce for overseas business. As of March 1975 the major shareholders were Meiji Life Insurance with 5.88%, Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance with 4.70% and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries with 3.74%, with Mitsubishi group insurers and operating companies at the top.
Initiatives
In June 1984 the bank acquired Bank of California on the US West Coast, taking over a decade later a deal it had once passed on for lack of personnel. Midway through the negotiations a local California bank stepped in with its own takeover offer, and the talks moved to the top executives. In January 1986 the bank set up a commercial bank in Australia, jointly owned 77.5% by Mitsubishi Bank, 12.5% by City Mutual Life Assurance and 10% by Howard Smith. Twelve or thirteen Japanese companies competed for Australian licenses, and besides Mitsubishi Bank only the Industrial Bank of Japan and The Bank of Tokyo obtained them.
Career
Career
Mitsubishi Bank
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1937 | Joined |
| Dec 1974 | Deputy President |
| Jan 1978 | President |
| Jun 1986 | Chairman |
| Jun 1986 | Stepped down as President |