JAPANESE BANKS LEAD WORLD 

FROM LEADING THE PACK IN WORLD BANKING TO ENDING UP WELL DOWN THE LIST EUROPEAN AND NORTH AMERICAN BANKS HAVE BEEN BYPASSED DURING THE LAST DECADE BY RISK-TAKING JAPANESE BANKS.

TODAY NINE OF THE WORLD'S TEN LEADING BANKS ARE JAPANESE. ONLY THE UNION BANK OF SWITZERLAND MADE IT TO LAST PLACE AMONGST THE "BIG TEN", AS OF THE DATE OF THIS COLUMN.

************************* WORLD'S LARGEST BANKS

1. SUMITOMO BANK (JAPAN) 2. NOMURA SECURITIES (JAPAN) 3. INDUSTRIAL BANK OF JAPAN 4. DAI-ICHI KANGYO BANK (JAPAN) 5. FUJI BANK (JAPAN) 6. MITSUBISHI BANK (JAPAN) 7. SANWA BANK (JAPAN) 8. SUMITOMO TRUST (JAPAN) 9. MITSUBISHI TRUST (JAPAN) 10. UNION BANK OF SWITZERLAND

ALL THIS HAS HAPPENED IN A FEW YEARS. REMEMBER THE BANK OF AMERICA? THEY USED TO BE REAL BIG. LAST YEAR THEY CLOSED 200 BRANCHES IN CALIFORNIA ALONE. CLOSED ANOTHER 200 WORLDWIDE AND LOST HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS. THEY DIDN'T ANTICIPATE THE INFORMATION AGE AND LOST. CITI-BANK OF NEW YORK SAW THE FUTURE DIFFERENTLY. THEIR VICE- CHAIRMAN ISSUED A NOW FAMOUS QUOTE "INFORMATION ABOUT MONEY IS ALMOST AS IMPORTANT AS MONEY ITSELF". IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THAT PHILOSOPHY THEY SURGED AHEAD. TODAY THEY ARE THE LEADING U.S. BANK.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO THE AVERAGE CITIZEN? INFORMATION IS POWER. AS LITTLE AS YOU MAY CONTROL NOW, GET THE RIGHT INFORMATION TO MAKE WHAT YOU DO HAVE GROW. THIS DOESN'T JUST MEAN IN REGARD TO WHAT YOU MAY HAVE IN A BANK BUT WHAT YOU MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE IN YOURSELF. THERE ARE NO LIMITS ON WHAT THE AVERAGE PERSON CAN DO IF THEY UNDERSTAND AND UTILIZE NEW TECHNOLOGIES. ONE PERSON WITH THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT CAN ACCOMPLISH WONDERS. WHY DON'T YOU TAKE A NEW LOOK AT YOUR LIFE AND CONSIDER THE OPTIONS?

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