Press Conference,
Takeshi Yokoyama,
Whistleblowing Former Employee of ShinGinko Tokyo Sued by Bank

The speech and Q & A will be in English.

In August 2008, ShinGinko Tokyo ("New Tokyo Bank"), established by the Tokyo metropolitan government, sued Takeshi Yokoyama, a former employee, for "damaging the social credibility of the bank" and "breaking the confidentiality contract", demanding 10 million yen.

What has Yokoyama done? He is a whistleblower.

The 42 year-old financial professional, also a member of the Corporate Strategy Division of the bank, appeared on interviews with TV Asahi and Shukan Gendai, a weekly news magazine, and told of how loan officers had been pressured to meet targets that led to huge losses and eventually the controversial recapitalization of the bank.

ShinGinko Tokyo, known as the brainchild of Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, was established by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 2004 to provide loans to small and midsize firms, but has accumulated loan losses due to problems in its loan screening and lending systems.

In fiscal year 2007, the bank suffered a 16.73 billion yen net loss, its third straight year of red ink since it started operations in 2005. The bank expects to lose 12.6 billion yen in fiscal year 2008.