The bankruptcy of Zentoshin Co., an Osaka-based credit card payment processor, threatens both the regional banks which funded it as well as the small and medium-sized restaurants that relied on its services.
Zentoshin filed for bankruptcy with the Osaka District Court on July 6, according to Teikoku Databank, Japan’s largest private corporate credit research firm. The company had total liabilities of approximately ¥115.2 billion ($710 million), at the time of the filing, making it Japan’s largest corporate bankruptcy of the year. Five listed regional banks and banking groups, including Towa Bank Ltd. and The San ju San Financial Group Inc., have said they will take writedowns because of the failure.
