Filing under Rule 425 under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933
Filing by: Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc.
Subject Company: The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd.
Commission File Number: 132-02705
Dated November 27, 2009
Management Integration with Sumitomo Trust Group - Creating "The Trust Bank" with a Combination of Expertise - Creating "The Trust Bank" with a Combination of Expertise and Comprehensive Capability - and Comprehensive Capability - November 26, 2009 Chuo Mitsui Trust Group |
Background of Management Integration Financial crisis led to structural changes in economy and society Japan's low birthrate and aging society, maturing of economy More advanced & complex client needs in managing their assets Need to facilitate the flow of Japan's personal financial assets, pension assets, etc. Entering an era where a trust bank group should give full play to its strengths, featuring high levels of expertise and broad scope of businesses Complete shared understanding of the management environment The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Group Combine personnel, know-how & other managerial resources Create "The Trust Bank", a new trust bank group November 6, 2009 Reached a basic agreement on the management integration of the two groups 1 |
What is "The Trust Bank"? "The Trust Bank will take pride as Japan's leading trust bank group which boasts the largest scale and the highest status by combing banking, asset management and admistration and real estate businesses "The Trust Bank" will provide high added value to all stakeholders - ---------------------- -------------------- ---------------- ------------------ For clients For society For shareholders For employees A trusted partner A company A financial A workplace where that swiftly provides operating a trust institution with a the diversity and comprehensive business with strong new business creativity of its solutions by making social and public model creating employees are full use of its high traits, that engages distinct, high value- more fully used to levels of expertise in sound added services by add value to the and comprehensive management based combining banking, organization and capability on a high degree of asset management where employees self-discipline and and administration can have pride and greatly contributes and real estate be highly motivated to society by businesses in fulfilling their proactively missions promoting corporate social responsibility activities 2 |
Consistency with Current Management Direction Current Management Direction ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- Increasing gross operating profit by Promoting Strengthening transitioning from a revenue structure which efficient the relied on conventional banking businesses management balance sheet Agile and focused application of managerial resources to high margin and high growth areas Investment Trust and Real Estate Individual Loans Pursuing low cost Enhancing capital Annuity Insurance (Housing Loans) operations Reducing stock price fluctuation risk Securing asset soundness Retain the current management policy untill the management integration Management Integration 3 |
Post-integration Vision (1) - Largest scale and highest status in Japan The largest scale and the highest status in Japan By strengthening high levels of expertise and expanding business operations, the new trust bank group will become Japan's leading trust bank group which boasts the largest scale and the highest status (1) Japan's largest asset management and custody group (2) One of Japan's leading asset management consulting groups (3) One of Japan's leading firms in trust-bank-related businesses (as of March 31, 2009) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Assets under Management Approx. 58 trillion yen No.1 among Japanese Bank and Securities Company Groups ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Balance of Corporate Pension Funds Approx. 12 trillion yen No.1 among Trust Banks ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lead Manager for Corporate Pension 2,033 funds No.1 among Trust Banks Funds ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Assets under Custody Approx. 181 trillion yen No.1 among Japanese Bank Groups ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Real Estate Business-Related Approx. 25 billion yen No.1 among Trust Banks Revenue ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stock Transfer Agency Services / 2,887 No.2 among Trust Banks Corporate Clients ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Balance of Investment Trust, Annuity Approx. 4 trillion yen No.3 among Japanese banks Insurance and Other Sales ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of Will Trusts 18,620 No.2 among Trust Banks ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lending Business / Total Loan Approx. 20 trillion yen No.5 among Japanese banks Balance ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lending Business / Balance of Loans Approx. 5 trillion yen No.5 among Japanese banks to Individuals 4 |
Post-integration Vision (2) - Reinforcing and combining client bases Reinforcing and combining wholesale client bases A broad wholesale client base including Mitsui Group and Sumitomo Group Not more than about 25% overlap between two parties' top 100 corporate borrowers (as of September 30, 2009) => By combining credit portfolios, concentration risk of credit portfolio decreases Reinforcing and combining retail client bases A balanced retail client base with a focus on the Tokyo metropolitan area, as well as the Kansai and Chubu areas Retail Client Base (in trillions of yen) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (as of September 30, 2009) Chuo Mitsui Trust Sumitomo Trust Total --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total retail depositary asset 9.83 100.0% 9.95 100.0% 19.78 100.0% balance (Note) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tokyo metropolitan area 5.27 53.7% 2.91 29.2% 8.18 41.4% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kansai area 1.56 15.9% 4.31 43.4% 5.87 29.7% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chubu area 1.76 18.0% 1.10 11.1% 2.86 14.6% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other 1.21 12.4% 1.62 16.3% 2.83 14.4% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: Total depositary assets :Deposits (including foreign currency deposits), loan trusts, money trusts, investment trusts, annuity insurances, Japanese government bonds 5 |
Post-integration Vision (3) - Reinforcing and combining branch networks Reinforcing and combining branch networks Balanced branch network in Japan, with a focus on the Tokyo metropolitan, Kansai and Chubu areas Domestic Network (Excluding Domestic Sub-branches) (as of September 30, 2009) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chuo Mitsui Trust Sumitomo Trust Total Overlapping Branches (Note) - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Metro Tokyo 33 49.3% 17 33.3% 50 42.4% 11 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kansai Area 10 14.9% 18 35.3% 28 23.7% 7 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chubu Area 13 19.4% 6 11.8% 19 16.1% 5 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Areas 11 16.4% 10 19.6% 21 17.8% 6 Note: Reorganization of branch - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 67 100.0% 51 100.0% 118 100.0% 29 networks will be considered later - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By leveraging the overseas networks of Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings (CMTH) Group and The Sumitomo Trust and Banking (STB) Group, the new trust bank group will be able to offer global financial services Overseas Network (Excluding overseas representative offices) (as of September 30, 2009) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chuo Mitsui Trust Sumitomo Trust - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USA Chuo Mitsui Investments, Inc. New York Branch, Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co. (U.S.A.) (Asset management business) (Asset management & global custody business) - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Europe Chuo Mitsui Trust International Ltd. London Branch, Sumitomo Trust and Banking (Securities business) (Luxembourg) S.A. (Global custody business) - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chuo Mitsui Investments, Singapore Pte. Ltd. Singapore Branch, Shanghai Branch Asia (Asset management business) STB Consulting (China) Co., Ltd. (Consulting business) Chuo Mitsui Investments Hong Kong Limited The Sumitomo Trust Finance (H.K.) Limited (Asset management business) (Finance business, asset management business) - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 |
Integration Effects (1) - Earnings Synergies Earnings expansion Pursue enhanced redeployment of personnel especially within management units through the integration of the three trust banks in the new trust bank group Assign staff to strategic fields Reinforce investment and consulting capabilities More specialist employees - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Securities Analysts 765 Asset Management Specialists 266 Pension Actuaries 57 Real Estate Appraisers 158 Real Estate Transaction Specialists 5,177 Certified Skilled Worker of Financial Planning (First Grade) 531 Financial Consultants 182 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (as of March 31, 2009, combined numbers of the three trust banks) DOMAINS Asset management Asset custody Investment trust sales Real estate Global business SPECIFIC BUSINESS CONTENTS Investment trust Management of wrap Pension management (active, passive), etc. management accounts Entrusted investment trust Asset securitization Investment trust sales Wrap account sales Annuity insurance sales Real estate brokerage (wholesale) Real estate brokerage (retail) Real estate management Business with overseas Investment products business for overseas clients (Japanese Japanese corporations equities, real estate) 7 |
Integration Effects (2) - Cost Synergies Expense Reduction Promote greater efficiency in systems and administration (in billions of yen) --------------------------------------------- Chuo Mitsui Sumitomo (FY2008) Trust (Note1) Trust (Note2) - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Systems costs 15.0 18.0 - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Other non- 44.2 58.9 personnel costs - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Systems costs mainly due to banking business, pension business, etc. Other non-personnel costs mainly due to costs related to office buildings, outsourcing, etc. Considerable reduction effect through integration Note1 : Combined figures of The Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking Company, Limited and Chuo Mitsui Asset Trust and Banking Company, Limited on non-consolidated basis Note2 : The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. on non-consolidated basis Streamline personnel and structures to respond to regulatory frameworks The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. Integration to enable more efficient responses IFRS Internal controls BASEL II Other tax systems, laws, (J-SOX) ordinances, etc. 8 |
Financial Soundness Status of "quality" and "quantity" of capital (Consolidated basis) --------------------------------------------------- (as of Sep.30, 2009, preliminary basis) Chuo Mitsui Trust Sumitomo Trust - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consolidated BIS Capital Adequacy Ratio (Note) 12.33% 14.17% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tier I Capital Ratio (Note) 8.83% 9.88% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Tier1-pref. shares and pref. securities)/RWA 6.55% 6.85% - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc. uses a domestic standard and The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. uses an international standard There is currently sufficient quality sufficient quality and quantity of capital, and we will capital, and we will continue efforts to maintain and to maintain and enhance the capital foundationfoundation Non-performing loans ratios, status (Non-consolidated basis) of collaterals and allowances The non-performing loans ratios were 1.5% and 2.5%. Financial allowances are at sufficient levels, with the coverage ratios for non-performing loans at 80.4% and 90.2%. (in billions of yen) ---------------------------------------- (as of September 30, 2009) CMTB (Note) Sumitomo Trust - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Non-performing loans: Total 145.7 309.2 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Non-performing loans ratio 1.5% 2.5% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coverage ratio 80.4% 90.2%. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: The Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking Company, Limited on non-consolidated basis Shareholding risk, future reduction policy (Consolidated basis) (in billions of yen) --------------------------------------------------- (as of September 30, 2009) Chuo Mitsui Trust Sumitomo Trust - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stocks (cost basis) (a) 489.9 422.5 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consolidated Tier I (b) 712.0 1,268.7 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- % of Tier I (a/b) 68.8% 33.3% - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Midterm Reduction Policy Midterm Chuo Mitsui Trust - Approx. 50% against Tier I Targets Sumitomo Trust - Approx. 30% against Tier I 9 |
References o Integration Process o Corporate Data for the Two Companies o Corporate Data for the Trust Banks 10 |
(Reference 1) Integration Process (1) - Overview Schedule November 6, 2009 Conclusion of a Basic Agreement on the Management Integration April 1, 2011 (planned) Execution of share exchange (The First Step) April 1, 2012 (planned) Merger of the three trust banks of the group (The Second Step) Integration (Share Exchange) Ratio The integration (share exchange) ratio will be determined by CMTH and STB based on their discussions, each considering the valuation and advice of their financial advisors. Business Alliance Both CMTH Group and STB Group quickly examine the possibilities for forming business alliances with each other, aiming at early realization of integration effects. Integration Promotion Committee Integration Promotion Committee: In order to deliberate and decide on key issues, directors from CMTH Group and STB Group launched "Integration Promotion Committee" on November 6, headed by the presidents of CMTH and STB. 11 |
(Reference 1) Integration Process (2) - The First Step On April 1, 2011, CMTH and STB plan to conduct the management integration through a share exchange between CMTH and STB and to position CMTH, planned to be renamed Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc., as a new holding company. The First Step The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. Share Exchange On April 1, 2011 (planned) Asset Management Subsidiaries Chuo Mitsui Asset Management Company, Limited Chuo Mitsui Capital Company Limited Banking Subsidiaries Chuo Mitsui Asset Trust and Banking Company, Limited The Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking Company, Limited Other Subsidiaries Other Subsidiaries STB Research Institute Co., Ltd. (think tank) Asset Management Subsidiaries STB Asset Management Co., Ltd. Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. Other Asset Management Subsidiaries Japan Trustee Services Bank, Ltd. 12 |
(Reference 1) Integration Process (3) - The Second Step On April 1, 2012, plan to merge the three trust banks under Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc. (planned), and establish Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Ltd. (planned) Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc. (planned) The Second Step Planned to be a direct-investment subsidiary of Integrated Holding Company STB Research Institute Co., Ltd. (think tank) Asset Management Subsidiaries o Will be reorganized by function o Planned to be direct-investment subsidiaries of Integrated Holding Company STB Asset Management Co., Ltd. Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. Chuo Mitsui Asset Management Company, Limited Chuo Mitsui Capital Company Limited Other Asset Management Subsidiaries Japan Trustee Services Bank, Ltd. The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. Other Subsidiaries Chuo Mitsui Asset Trust and Banking Company, Limited The Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking Company, Limited Other Subsidiaries Merger of the three Trust Banks on April1, 2012 (planned) Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Ltd. (planned) Other Subsidiaries 13 |
(Reference 2) Corporate Data for the Two Companies (as of March 31, 2009) Corporate Data for the Two Companies (as of March 31, 2009) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc. The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Establishment February 1, 2002 July 28, 1925 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Registered Head Office 33-1, Shiba 3-chome 5-33, Kitahama 4-chome Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8574, Japan Chuo-ku, Osaka, 540-8639, Japan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name and Title of Representative President Kazuo Tanabe President and CEO Hitoshi Tsunekage ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Capital Stock(1) 261,608 million yen 342,037 million yen ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of Issued Shares(1) Common: 1,658,426,267 Common: 1,675,128,546 Preferred: 109,000,000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Net Assets (Consolidated) 688,455 million yen 1,264,052 million yen ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Assets (Consolidated) 15,086,445 million yen 21,330,132 million yen ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Fiscal Year March March ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of Employees(2) 8,828 (Consolidated) 9,965 (Consolidated) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 As of September 30, 2009 2 Number of employees includes permanent staff and overseas local hires, and excludes short-term contractors and temporary employees. Business Results for the Past Three Fiscal Years (Consolidated) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc. The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fiscal Year ended March 31, 2007 2008 2009 2007 2008 2009 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ordinary Income (billions of yen) 447.1 459.1 413.0 853.3 1,095.6 1,062.1 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ordinary Profit (billions of yen) 159.9 125.3 (116.9) 170.1 136.9 29.6 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Income (billions of yen) 112.7 71.8 (92.0) 103.8 82.3 7.9 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BIS Capital Adequacy Ratio(1) 12.13% 13.84% 12.05% 11.36% 11.84% 12.09% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tier I Capital Ratio(1) 8.90% 10.82% 8.74% 6.44% 7.33% 7.63% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc. uses a domestic standard and The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. uses an international standard. 14 |
(Reference 3) Corporate Data for the Trust Banks (as of March 31, 2009) Corporate Data for the Trust Banks (Non-Consolidated, as of March 31, 2009) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Chuo Mitsui Chuo Mitsui Asset The Sumitomo Combined Total Banking Trust and Banking Trust and Trust and Company, Limited Company, Limited Banking Co., Ltd. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Establishment May 26, 1962 December 28, 1995 July 28, 1925 - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Registered Head Office 33-1, Shiba 3-chome, 23-1, Shiba 3-chome, 5-33, Kitahama 4-chome, - Minato-ku, Minato-ku, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Tokyo 105-8574, Japan Tokyo 105-8574, Japan 540-8639, Japan --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name and Title of Representative President Kazuo Tanabe President Tadashi President and CEO - Kawai Hitoshi Tsunekage ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Capital stock (millions of yen) 399,697 11,000 287,537 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rating A1 (Moody's) A (S&P) A1 (Moody's) Aa3 (Moody's) A+ (S&P) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of Branches 67 1 55 123 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Domestic branches 67 1 51 119 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overseas branches - - 4 4 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of Domestic Sub-branches and 29 2 16 47 OverseaRepresentative Offices ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Domestic sub-branches 25 2 12 39 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overseas representative offices 4 - 4 8 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of Employees(1) 6,371 631 6,026 13,028 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Assets (billions of yen) 14,502.5 145.9 20,735.8 35,384.3 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Deposits (billions of yen) 8,953.9 0.1 11,906.0 20,860.1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Loans and Bills Discounted(2) (billions 9,191.1 - 11,857.8 21,048.9 of yen) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Net Assets (billions of yen) 571.8 44.8 863.1 1,479.8 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trust account(3) (billions of yen) 7,228.8 28,841.3 82,770.9 118,841.1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BIS Capital Adequacy Ratio(4) 11.27% 27.55% 13.03% - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tier I Capital Ratio(4) 7.92% 27.55% 8.49% - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Assets Classified under the Financial 139.1 - 116.4 255.6 Revitalization Law(5) (billions of yen) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Non-Performing Loans ratio(5) 1.4% - 0.9% 1.1% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gross Business Profit (before trust 193.4 35.3 334.3 563.0 account write-offs) (billions of yen) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Business Profit before Credit Costs 93.2 19.5 201.0 313.8 (billions of yen) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Income (billions of yen) (90.3) 10.3 38.9 (41.0) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1Number of employees includes permanent staff and overseas local hires, and excludes short-term contractors and temporary employees. 2Combined totals of banking and trust accounts. 3Including the amount re-trusted to Japan Trustee Services Bank, Ltd. 4The Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking Company, Limited and Chuo Mitsui Asset Trust and Banking Company, Limited use a domestic standard and The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. uses an international standard. 5Combined totals of banking and principal guaranteed trust accounts. 15 |
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the plans and expectations of Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc. and The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. in relation to, and the benefits resulting from, their proposed business combination and business alliance. These forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as 'believes,' 'expects,' 'anticipates,' 'projects,' 'intends,' 'should,' 'seeks,' 'estimates,' 'future,' or similar expressions or by discussion of, among other things, strategy, goals, plans or intentions. Actual results may differ materially in the future from those reflected in forward-looking statements contained in this document, due to various factors including but not limited to: O failure of the parties to agree on some or all of the terms of business combination; O failure to obtain a necessary shareholder approval; O inability to obtain some or all necessary regulatory approvals or to fulfill any other condition to the closing of the transaction; O changes in laws or accounting standards, or other changes in the business environment relevant to the parties; O challenges in executing our business strategies; O the effects of financial instability or other changes in general economic or industry conditions; and O other risks to consummation of the transaction. Additional Information and Where to Find It Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc. may file a registration statement on Form F-4 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in connection with its proposed business combination with The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. The Form F-4, if filed, will contain a prospectus and other documents. If the Form F-4 is filed and declared effective, the prospectus contained in the Form F-4 is expected to be mailed to U.S. shareholders of The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. prior to the shareholders' meeting at which the proposed business combination will be voted upon. The Form F-4, if filed, and prospectus, as they may be amended from time to time, will contain important information about Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc. and The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd., the business combination and related matters including the terms and conditions of the transaction. U.S. shareholders of The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. are urged to read carefully the Form F-4, the prospectus and the other documents, as they may be amended from time to time, that have been or may be filed with the SEC in connection with the transaction before they make any decision at the shareholders meeting with respect to the business combination. The Form F-4, if filed, the prospectus and all other documents filed with the SEC in connection with the business combination will be available when filed, free of charge, on the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, the prospectus and all other documents filed with the SEC in connection with the business combination will be made available to U.S. shareholders of The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd., free of charge, by faxing a request to Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc. at +81-3- 5232-8716 or to The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. at +81-3-3286-4654. 16 |