Location Choices of Regional Financial Institutions in the Tohoku Region of Japan

摘要

Under the Financial Services Agency’s action program for the enhancement of relationship banking program, regional financial institutions are being asked to assist small and medium-sized companies in the rehabilitation of their financial positions. Location choices of regional financial institutions are important to support such activities. This paper examines location choices of different types of regional financial institutions in the Tohoku region in 2012. The main conclusion of the empirical analysis is that some financial institutions are mainly revenue driven in certain prefectures, while some focus on both profitability and public nature of the banks.