Seven Bank Ltd., which is partly owned by Seven & i Holdings Co., is aiming to expand its ATM cash machine network beyond its parent company's 7-Eleven shops into other convenience stores, Chief Executive Officer Masaaki Matsuhashi said.
Although nothing has been decided, deconsolidation from Seven & i resulting from a reduction of its stake in Seven Bank would make such a scenario more possible, Matsuhashi told analysts in a briefing Monday. "There would be greater freedom," he said. "Other shops and convenience stores other than 7-Eleven are possible."
Seven & i, which is facing a takeover approach from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard, plans to reduce its stake in its banking unit to 38% as part of a broader revamp, people with knowledge of the matter said last week. Seven Bank, which operates 27,000 machines across Japan, has made clear that it wants to expand its financial business into lending, and develop strategies to push deeper into retail, corporate and overseas banking.
The operator of 7-Elevens is facing pressure to revamp its business and show it can command a higher valuation, whether in negotiations or through its own efforts. Seven & i rejected Couche-Tard's initially indicated offer, saying it didn't fully reflect the company's worth.
For Seven Bank, greater independence from its parent could also lead to new growth opportunities. The business was founded in 2001 to offer banking services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, using ATMs in 7-Eleven stores at a time when most banks operated under limited retail hours.
Japan's retail banking sector is seeing big changes, with the Bank of Japan seeking to normalize monetary policy after three decades of an ultra-loose stance. There's greater competition from non-traditional business offering financial services, including from East Japan Railway and the PayPay mobile payments business, which is majority-owned by SoftBank Group Corp.'s telecommunications unit.
