SMFG Announces Revolutionary Work Attire Change
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group made an unprecedented announcement to relax rules for work attire in a move to spark cultural transformation.
SMFG president Jun Ohta told an audience that the firm’s Tokyo headquarters would allow staff to wear jeans and sneakers to work. Staff at branches can also wear casual attire if managers approve.
The move is revolutionary by Japan's standards due to a corporate culture – especially in mainstream sectors like finance – of unyielding conservatism over the years. And SMFG’s latest announcement signals precisely more than just a shift in fashion senses but an attempt to prod cultural change.
Changing Times
Ohta said the new rules are part of his efforts to transform the bank to meet new challenges and withstand competition from new players such as fintech companies, which he has hinted as more nimble competitors that could potentially lure away SMFG clients.
«We have 100,000 employees worldwide. We cannot change unless we change the mindset of each one of them,» Ohta said in a «Bloomberg» report. «I am telling them: 'Change your ideas, don't just change your clothes.»
Financial Conglomerate
Separately, Ohta also announced plans for SMFG to launch a securities, credit card and consumer finance business in Indonesia as part of a broader plan to build a «financial conglomerate» in the country.
