New markets and new opportunities

November 20, 2023

It has been a productive week in Japan as I’ve been on a roadshow with [ ] to find ways to enter the Japanese market. It’s a fairly unique market in and of itself, dominated by a select group of mega banks and anchored by several other investment banks, all of whom offer comprehensive banking services from deposits and wealth management to investment banking and capital markets. 

Eighteen meetings in four days provides a fantastic crash course for any market and the pitch became clearer and clearer with each new conversation. Japan is in a unique situation where stagflation has put its economy in neutral for the better part of 30 years. Rates have been so low that the average bank offering 0.1% interest is the norm and a neobank offering 0.4% makes people jump for joy. As a result, any investment that can offer low single digit returns becomes an incredible proposition for the average investor. Stagflation has also caused domestic Japanese investors to want to set their sights internationally, believing in better prospects abroad than internally. This set the stage for a unique chance for us to pitch our bespoke blended note products to their high net worth investor base.

You could see it in their body language that a product like ours would be game changing for the banks. It satisfies their clients’ desires to look abroad while also offering them a unique product they can’t get anywhere else. For the fintechs in Japan who have only been able to offer domestic loans to their customers, we give them a valuable sourcing outlet that they’re short staffed in being able to do. 

None of this will be quick by any means as the Japanese market still errs on the side of being conservative but it’s never too early to start and this was a great first step in the right direction.