Japanese banks, long seen as more concerned about nurturing the country's industrial titans than helping the man on the street, are trying to throw off their customer-unfriendly image.
But despite their remodelled branches, expanded product lineups and staff who are trained to be nicer, analysts say these lenders are still a long way from becoming real "service" companies -- a move that the banks hope will open to door to new sources of profit.
The main obstacle, analysts say, is a public perception that banks, rather than being money-making corporate entities, are a semi-public part of the social infrastructure set up to keep the financial system stable and that bankers are virtual bureaucrats.
"Retail comes down to dealing with individuals but encouraging people to change their mentality is an ongoing process," said Jason Rogers at Barclays Capital.
"It's not going to be an overnight change. It's a five-year pro-ject, an education project. And success is not guaranteed," Rod-gers said.
Change first came from unorthodox lenders such as Japan's first foreign-owned bank, Shinsei, as well as IY Bank, which relies solely on automated-teller machines (ATMs) and has no branches, and new banks formed by firms betting on explosive growth in e-commerce.
Now, top banks have extended counter service hours on weekdays and are open for business at weekends.
Resona Bank, which was bailed out by the Japanese government a few years ago, is using advice from outside directors to cut waiting times at counters to zero.
But many individuals remain skeptical.
"It's good that there are more and more ATMs open 24 hours,"said Sumiko Chiba, 28, who works at an engineering company.
"But it's too little, too late," Chiba said.
"Banks are worse at providing services for their customers compared to other places, like supermarkets," she said.
The banks fees are a big pro-blem, too.
"Fees are too high. Also, it's a pain on weekends because with many banks not open, you have to pay even higher fees to use their ATMs," said Takaaki Murakami, 23, an art dealer.
For some, bank staff are still aloof, particularly towards older people.
"Bank staff should be friendlier and more patient towards the elderly, who generally have a harder time understanding complex explanations," said Ikuko Kubo, in her 50s and in the printing business.
"I want bank staff to be more polite," she said.
Bankers, however, disagree that their services ought to be free.
"People are paying around ?200 (US$1.75) in transaction fees, but that's not enough when you think about what they are getting in return," said a banker at one of the four megabanks.
"That is, a safe and sound infrastructure that ensures all your money is transferred and managed safely," the banker said.
Banks, nevertheless, have a good reason to bear the high cost of running their retail infrastructure.
A nationwide customer base of depositors opens the way to many opportunities as deregulation progresses, including profitable fee-business like asset management and stockbroking.
"Banks have diversified settlement services but lag in their savings role," said Darrel Whitten, director at Japanese investor relations consultancy IR Corp.
"What's important for banks is how they can draw on and guide the ?1,400 trillion of financial assets individuals hold into their products," he said.
Of the ?1,400 trillion, 56 percent was in deposits, compared with 13 percent in the US.
Investment trusts accounted for 9 percent in Japan versus 44 percent in America.
As Japan moves to lower barriers further between the banking and securities sectors, banks want to use their retail channels to shift deposits into risk assets such as stocks, a banker said.
Through retail, banks could make deeper inroads into such equity business as getting mandates for initial public offerings, equity issuance and underwriting.
Eying individuals' wealth, top banks are grooming trained financial consultants.
The Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group has set up an internal "retail academy," while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has launched "SMBC consulting plazas" focusing on asset management and general money planning.
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