UFJ, challenging a takeover of UFJ by the Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group (see Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group). While it eventually lost that bid, SMBC is credited with increasing competition within Japan's once staid banking industry. July 2008: SMBC Group bought a 2.1 percent stake in Barclays Bank for £500m. March 2015: SMBC Group bought HK$6.58 billion (JP¥105 billion, US$849 million) of new Bank of East Asia shares, raising SMBC's stake in the Hong Kong lender to 17.5% from 9.7%. January 2019: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Indonesia merged with PT Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional Tbk, also known as Bank BTPN. The group owned 96,89% ownership of the bank since the merger was completed on 1 February 2019, with Bank BTPN as the surviving brand. Indonesian authorities approved the merger in December 2018, while Japanese authorities approved the merger a month later. March 2020: SMBC Group agreed to buy a 4.9 percent stake in Ares Management. As part of this agreement, the group will make a US$384 million equity investment into the firm. Corporate structure Business division Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group acts as the holding company for the SMBC group. The core subsidiary of the group is the banking unit, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). The group's banking unit is organised in the following structure: Consumer Banking Unit Middle Market Unit Corporate Banking Unit Investment Banking Unit International Banking Unit Treasury Unit Compliance Unit Corporate Staff Unit Throughout the years, the group has expanded into other related businesses such as leasing, brokerage and asset management. As of 2020, the major subsidiaries beside the banking unit include SMBC Nikko Securities, SMBC Trust Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management, Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing and Japan Research Institute (JRI). Brand Group name The group was identified by its holding entity name, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), until early of 2018. By March 2018, the group established "SMBC Group" as its master brand name. Since then, the corporate group has been referred to as SMBC Group instead of SMFG. The press release by the company stated the move is to associate the brand with the group's core banking business, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Corporate logo SMBC Group's corporate logo uses "Rising Mark" sign. The background color is trad green, fresh green. The “SMBC” name is shown on the right side of the rising mark with white block letters. Mascot character In 2014, SMBC Group created