The SCB's Preferred Shares

The SCB issues preferred shares under the Law Concerning Preferred Shares of Cooperative Financial Institutions. The preferred shares, which are regulated by the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, are issued to complement members’ (shinkin banks’) common shares and offered publicly to increase the net worth of cooperative financial institutions.

Although the preferred shares do not carry the voting rights that holders of common shares receive, the preferred shares have certain advantages over common shares, such as the guarantee of priority in the payment of dividends.

Listing of Preferred Shares

The SCB has issued preferred shares since fiscal 1995 and, for the first time in Japan, the preferred shares were listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on December 22, 2000 (Securities Identification Code 8421). The SCB’s preferred shares are marketable securities that are very similar to preferred stocks, and, basically, the same listing criteria and disclosure rules apply to them.