Gifu Commerce and Industry Credit Union

What Gifu Commerce and Industry Credit Union does

Gifu Commerce and Industry Credit Union (岐阜商工信用組合, brand "しょうしん") is a member-owned financial cooperative (信用組合 / shinkin bank) headquartered in Gifu City, Japan. Founded in the mid-1950s and operating for roughly 70 years, it serves small and medium-sized enterprises, individual business owners (個人事業主), and retail depositors across southern Gifu Prefecture and, since 2026, northwestern Aichi Prefecture through a 13-branch network plus internet and business banking channels.

The product portfolio is anchored by deposit and insurance products (with preferential rates for member-depositors), loan products (business, mortgage, auto, and free-use), and digital banking delivered through Internet Banking and Business Banking platforms integrated via the Anser Parasol and BizSol infrastructure. Additional services include DenSa-i Net (electronic commercial paper), and specialised SME advisory modules covering startup support, solar-power business entry, and nursing-care business management. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; loan and deposit terms are negotiated at branches.

The institution differentiates explicitly by not offering life insurance or investment trusts, concentrating instead on business financing with custom-made loan proposals and post-disbursement borrower accompaniment. It serves a defined regional operating area under Japanese cooperative law, with ownership resting with member-depositors; it is not publicly listed and has no external shareholders or venture capital relationships. Revenue mechanics rely on net interest income from the loan book, fee income from deposit and ancillary services, and member-funded capital.

Name

Gifu Commerce and Industry Credit Union

Legal name

岐阜外商信用組合

Website

https://shoushin.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Gifu Commerce and Industry Credit Union is a member-owned Japanese shinkin bank serving SMEs, individual business owners, and retail depositors across southern Gifu and northwestern Aichi prefectures via a 13-branch network and internet banking, with a deliberate specialisation in business lending.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Cooperative Banking

NAICS

Credit Unions (522130)

SIC

State Commercial Banks (6022)

akta.pro primary industry

Small Business Banking (Microbusiness/Sole Proprietor) (FSABAAAI)

Keywords

• Business lending services
• Small business financing
• Community banking
• Commercial deposit products
• Cooperative banking

Headquarters

HQ city

Gifu

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Gifu Commerce and Industry Credit Union is a regional shinkin bank (credit union) that specializes in business lending for small and medium enterprises and individual business owners. Its core offering consists of deposit and insurance products, business and consumer loan products, Internet Banking for individuals, and Business Banking for corporate customers, supplemented by an electronic commercial paper service (DenSa-i Net) and specialized business support services covering startup, solar power entry, and care business management.

Product overview

Gifu Commerce and Industry Credit Union (しょうしん) is a regional credit union providing comprehensive financial services to small and medium enterprises and individual business operators in Gifu and Aichi prefectures. The core product portfolio consists of deposit and insurance products (offering special rates for union members), loan products including business loans, mortgages, and consumer loans, and digital banking services through Internet Banking and Business Banking platforms. The union also provides electronic commercial paper services through DenSa-i Net. Business support services include specialized advisory modules for startup support, solar power business entry, and care business management. The institution operates with a focus on business lending, distinguishing itself by not offering life insurance or investment trust products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Deposit and Insurance Products (預金・保険商品) Savings and insurance products for individual and business customers, including time deposits with special rates available exclusively to credit union members.
• Loan Products (ローン商品) Business loans, home loans, car loans, and free-use (purpose-free) loans for individuals and businesses, with custom-made proposals tailored to each borrower's situation.
• Internet Banking (インターネットバンキング) Online banking service for individual customers to manage accounts, perform transfers, and conduct transactions via a web-based platform.
• Business Banking (ビジネスバンキング) Corporate online banking platform for business customers to manage business accounts, execute transfers, and conduct financial operations.
• DenSa-i Net (でんさいネット) Electronic commercial paper service enabling businesses to process and manage bills electronically through the nationwide electronic claim (densai) network.
• Business Support Services (事業者様向けサービス) Comprehensive business support package for SME owners, including startup assistance (planning to financing), main business support (matching, sales channels, expansion), funding arrangements with rapid proposals, support for new field entry, and repayment method review.
• Solar Power Business Entry Support (太陽光発電事業参入サポート) Specialized advisory and financing support services for businesses entering the solar power generation industry.
• Care Business Management Support (介護事業経営サポート) Consulting and management support services for nursing care business operators.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Shoko Chukin Bank: Shoko Chukin Bank is Japan's nationwide cooperative bank dedicated exclusively to SME financing, operating under a similar member-cooperative philosophy. It is materially larger and nationally distributed but serves the same SME customer segment with overlapping business-lending capabilities, positioning it as a broad incumbent peer rather than a direct local competitor.
• Chiba Bank: Chiba Bank is one of Japan's largest regional banks, serving SMEs and retail customers across Chiba and greater Tokyo with a comprehensive product suite. While geographically distant, its mid-to-large scale regional banking franchise — heavy SME loan weighting, deposit-driven funding, and broad digital channels — provides a useful comparable for the trajectory the credit union's larger regional peers have followed.

Direct peers

• Suruga Bank: Suruga Bank is a regional bank historically focused on SME lending with a strong personal-relationship banking model. Its business mix — heavy weighting toward unsecured personal and small business loans — parallels the credit union's specialization in small-ticket, judgment-based SME financing, making its operating model highly comparable.
• Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank: Headquartered in Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture, Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank is a major regional bank serving the same southern Gifu market as Gifu Commerce and Industry Credit Union. It targets SME and retail customers with deposit, loan, and trust products and is one of the credit union's most direct head-to-head competitors for business lending relationships in the shared geography.
• Aichi Bank: Aichi Bank is a regional bank headquartered in Nagoya focused on SMEs and retail customers across Aichi Prefecture. With the credit union's first branch opening in Ichinomiya (northwestern Aichi), Aichi Bank is a directly comparable local competitor for SME deposits, business loans, and regional corporate relationships in the expansion geography.
• Juroku Bank: Headquartered in Nagoya with strong roots in Gifu, Juroku Bank is the dominant regional bank in the Gifu/Aichi corridor. It operates a comparable SME-focused franchise across the same geography the credit union serves, including the northwestern Aichi area, making it the principal larger-scale competitor for both deposits and business loans.
• Kiraboshi Bank: Kiraboshi Bank is a Tokyo-based regional bank formed from the merger of three community banks, with a stated focus on SMEs and personal banking customers. Its mid-scale, relationship-oriented regional banking model closely mirrors the credit union's position in its core market — smaller-than-megabank scale, deep local relationships, and an emphasis on SME financing.

Regional players

• Hachijuni Bank: Headquartered in Nagano Prefecture, Hachijuni Bank is a regional bank serving neighboring central-Japan prefectures with a comparable SME and retail customer focus. It is geographically adjacent (Nagano borders Gifu) and operates a similar regional banking franchise, making it a relevant comparator for scale, product mix, and operating model — though it does not directly compete in the credit union's market.
• Hyakugo Bank: Hyakugo Bank is the dominant regional bank in Mie Prefecture, neighboring Gifu and Aichi, with a long-standing focus on SME lending and retail deposits. Its mid-sized regional banking profile, customer base composition, and product set are structurally similar to the credit union's, although its operating geography lies in an adjacent prefecture.

Emerging players

• SBI Sumishin Net Bank: SBI Sumishin Net Bank is a digital-first Japanese bank offering retail and SME deposit and lending products online at competitive rates. As an emerging, digitally-native competitor targeting the same SME and retail deposit pool, it represents a structurally adjacent threat and comparable benchmark for digital service delivery at sub-megabank scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gifu Commerce and Industry Credit Union