Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank

"However, Masayoshi Son dared to challenge this impossibility. He went all out to the  town branch of Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank (current Mizuho Bank). It was 1982. This marked the beginning of Masayoshi Son becoming a master at obtaining bank loans. ◆ “Please lend me 100 million yen at the prime rate” For Masayoshi Son, two or three months after founding the company, funding was the biggest concern. The monthly sales were about 2 million yen, and although he received an order of 20 million yen from a major company, he had no money to procure goods. So, Masayoshi Son visited the  town branch of Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank and requested:"

"At that time, Gokitani had almost no knowledge about PCs or software. However, the explanation of the business content given by Masayoshi Son was very coherent and understandable. Gradually, he began to take interest and intuitively felt, “This could work.” They talked for about an hour. A loan of about 20 million yen was possible at the branch manager’s discretion. However, for 100 million yen, it had to pass through the head office’s screening department. After Masayoshi Son left, Branch Manager Gokitani called Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank’s Osaka and Namba branches. It was to approach Joshin Denki and Sharp. Gokitani had previously worked at the Osaka branch. President Norihiro Sumikawa of Joshin Denki responded to the Namba branch manager: “I intend to do business positively.” Also, Vice President Masaharu Sasaki of Sharp directly called the loan deputy manager of the Osaka branch and conveyed: “I know Mr. Son well. He is reliable. If Dai-Ichi Kangyo can take care of him, I would be most grateful.” The headquarters’ corporate department, which examines small loan projects, promptly discussed it, including Branch Manager Gokitani. The screening results were a total of minus fifteen points. However, Gokitani added fifteen points in the “Future Prospects” item, resulting in a final score of zero, and the loan was eventually approved. Just a week later, Dai-Ichi Kangyo lent 100 million yen to SoftBank Japan at the prime rate at that time."