Notice Regarding a Strategic Business Alliance with CRB Group, Parent Company of U.S.-Based Cross River, and a Basic Agreement toward the Establishment of a Joint Venture in Japan
FORT LEE, N.J.--( BUSINESS WIRE)--SBI Holdings, Inc. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, Chairman, President & CEO: Yoshitaka Kitao; hereinafter “SBI Holdings”) hereby announces that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with CRB Group, Inc. (Head Office: New Jersey, U.S.; Chairman & CEO: Gilles Gade; hereinafter “CRB Group”), the parent company of Cross River Bank (hereinafter “Cross River”), a leading technology infrastructure platform powering embedded financial solutions serving as the trust anchor for global banking and money movement, regarding a strategic business alliance and the proposed establishment of a joint venture in Japan.
Founded in 2008, Cross River provides the regulated financial infrastructure for the world’s largest brands, offering embedded financial solutions across accounts, cards, payments, lending, digital assets and agentic commerce. In 2026, Cross River has helped bring the first peer-to-peer payments experience within a U.S. social media platform to market and enabled agentic transactions, demonstrating how its technology infrastructure is unlocking entirely new ways to move money. The Company continues to lead the industry in connecting emerging innovation with the regulated financial infrastructure required to operate at scale.
SBI Holdings and CRB Group will primarily consider the following initiatives.
1. Establishment of a Joint Venture in Japan
Subject to the execution of definitive agreements and the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals, the two companies will work toward establishing a joint venture in Japan. By leveraging their respective technologies, expertise, customer bases and networks, the joint venture will seek to offer financial services and related products provided by the SBI Group and CRB Group to customers in Japan and the wider Asia-Pacific (“APAC”) region.
The joint venture will primarily consider the following business areas:
2. Strategic Investment in CRB Group
SBI Holdings will make a strategic investment in CRB Group.
3. Other Areas of Strategic Business Collaboration
In addition to the above, SBI Holdings and CRB Group intends to pursue collaborations in the following areas:
* Each of the initiatives described above is subject to further discussions, the execution of definitive agreements, and the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals from the relevant authorities in Japan and the United States.
SBI Group operates crypto asset exchanges in countries around the world, including SBI VC Trade in Japan and Coinhako in Singapore. The Group is also working globally to expand its digital asset ecosystem, including by offering “JPYSC,” Japan’s first trust-type yen-denominated stablecoin, jointly developed with Startale Group and issued by SBI Shinsei Trust & Banking.
Through this collaboration, the companies will advance the development of next-generation financial infrastructure with global reach and accelerate the adoption of digital financial services in Japan and the broader APAC region.
About the SBI Group
Founded in 1999, the SBI Group is a comprehensive internet financial group and a pioneer of internet-based financial services in Japan. The Group operates the Financial Services Business, centered on securities, banking and insurance, providing highly convenient products and services at competitive prices through the internet. In addition, the SBI Group operates the Asset Management Business, PE Investment Business, Crypto-asset Business and Next Gen Business on a global scale.
About Cross River
Cross River builds technology that powers the future of financial services. Leveraging its proprietary real-time digital banking core, Cross River delivers innovative and scalable embedded payments, cards, lending and digital asset and agentic solutions to millions of consumers and businesses. Cross River is backed by leading investors and serves the world’s most essential technology and fintech companies at the forefront of innovation. As a leader in the industry, Cross River is reshaping global finance and financial inclusion. Member FDIC. Find out more at www.crossriver.com.