SBI will help raise funds for the venture, which plans to begin with 40-nanometer and 55nm automotive and industrial chips and produce more advanced 28nm chips in the medium to long term.
The company has been strengthening the recruitment of science graduates to develop high-tech experts in house.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group, Japan's second- and third-largest lenders by assets, also expect their highest net profits since the mid 2010s.
Lenders including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Mizuho Bank are planning to increase the staff they allocate to startup businesses.
The issue has broader implications for other industries in Japan, which has long lagged behind global counterparts for workplace diversity.
The FSA has been warning of risks posed by rising interest rates to regional lenders’ bond holdings long before the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last month.
The newly appointed head of the firm’s core banking unit says the downturn in the global economy will help it attract talent as it seeks to boost areas like sales and trading.
Such a move would depend on stable price increases and wage growth, as well as the health of the U.S. and European economies, Hiroyuki Seki said.
The plan underscores the challenges facing Japan’s biggest banks as they weigh how to invest billions of dollars in profits amid ultralow interest rates and tepid loan demand at home.
At stake is around ¥151.5 trillion ($1.1 trillion) in debt held by mega-banks and regional lenders.
