Daily Times

Bank of Kyoto, a regional lender based in the ancient Japanese city, has a unique buffer against the hit to tourism from the coronavirus – dividends from local high-tech heavyweights. After thriving from a flood of overseas visitors attracted by its historic sites, Kyoto is suffering from plunging inbound tourism as Japan closes its borders to contain the pandemic. The blow has been eased by a handful of big Kyoto-based manufacturers like Nintendo <7974.T>, which Bank of Kyoto <8369.T> invested in as start-ups and continues to back despite pressure from overseas investors to sell. The strategy is paying off as COVID-19 ravages the region, forcing Bank of Kyoto to set aside 5 billion yen ($47 million) in reserves to guard against bad loans in the year ending in March – triple the previous year’s sum. “By owning their shares, we helped these firms grow. They’re now global giants, but we want to maintain deep relationships with them,” Bank of Kyoto President Nobuhiro Doi told Reuters.