Pros
Large bank with some top tier clients. Solid balance sheet to lend against.
Cons
Unbelievably rigid culture with a Kafkaesque level of bureaucracy that makes doing actual business impossible. There is absolutely no autonomy and people are literally scared to make decisions without getting sign off from every level of management. Pace of business, as a result, is glacial. Entrepreneurial thinking is discouraged and there is a palpable fear of anything new which would explain (but not excuse) the use of Lotus notes for email and other unbelievably outdated technologies. There is no clear path to promotion for non-Japanese, no culture of management feedback or mentoring for those who want to advance their careers and women, in general, are not seen as management material. In short, if SMBC is a microcasm for Japanese culture, good luck to the Japanese economy on achieving any meaningful growth anytime soon.
