- What's at stake: The closure will result in the layoff of 161 employees, including the unit's president and chief information officer.
- Supporting data: SMBC Manubank reported a $38.3 million loss in the first quarter of 2024, attributed largely to the high costs of supporting Jenius.
- Forward look: Affected employees have been notified that their employment will terminate on or around March 10, 2026, following a mandatory notice period.
Overview bullets generated by AI with editorial review
Tokyo-based Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. will shutter Jenius Bank, its digital-only U.S. consumer division, marking an abrupt end to an ambitious retail expansion strategy in America.
As part of the shutdown, SMBC Manubank is laying off 161 employees, according to a Jan. 8 regulatory disclosure from Robin Milberg, chief human resources officer of the SMBC Americas Division.
The company disclosed the 161 layoffs in a letter sent to the State of Oregon, pursuant to the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, Act, which requires advance notice of mass layoffs.
The 161 likely accounts for all U.S. employees, not just those in Oregon. Jenius Bank is based out of Los Angeles, and nearly all of its employees are remote. The 161 includes the bank's president, chief information officer and various engineering and marketing leads.
The company informed affected employees that their employment will terminate on or around March 10, 2026, following a 60-day required notice period. Affected workers will receive their regular wages and benefits through the end of the notice period.
A spokesperson for SMBC confirmed the wind-down to American Banker, stating that the decision includes suspending new account openings and loan originations.
The bank did not comment on the ultimate fate of the accounts — for example, whether deposits will be transferred to a new bank or returned to depositors, and what will become of the bank's loan portfolio.
Jenius Bank operated as a division of SMBC Manubank, a California state-chartered commercial bank based in Los Angeles. SMBC Americas Holdings, a member of the SMBC Group, wholly owns SMBC Manubank. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, or SMFG, one of Japan's three largest banking groups with a 400-year history, serves as the ultimate holding company.
Employees shared bittersweet reactions to the news on LinkedIn.
April Mazzola, a web and digital strategy leader at Jenius, called the people she worked with "some of the smartest, most thoughtful, and most talented" in her career.
"I'm deeply saddened that SMBC chose not to move forward with a retail banking product, because the team and the potential were absolutely there," Mazzola
A marketing leader for the bank highlighted the team's rapid success in
Jenius Bank differentiated itself through a cloud-native, paperless operating model designed for "digital optimizers."
The bank's operations are
Jenius also launched an "evolved banking" feature called Jenius View, which allowed customers to aggregate and view external financial accounts in one dashboard to track net worth and spending.
Management originally envisioned Jenius as
The bank reached $1 billion in deposits in just six months, but it came at a significant cost. SMBC Manubank reported a $38.3 million first-quarter loss in 2024, which it attributed largely to the hundreds of employees and tens of millions in operating costs required to support Jenius.
John Rosenfeld, president of Jenius, said in June 2024 that SMBC was taking a patient approach to profitability at the startup brand.
"They're allowing us to do things right, and do things a little more strategically, with the recognition that it'll take us longer to get to long-term profitability," Rosenfeld
