# Aiful > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Aiful > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Aiful.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aiful > Source revision: 1227531060 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Japanese consumer finance company This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (April 2012) This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Aiful" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) AIFUL Corporation Headquarters Native name アイフル株式会社 Type Public (K.K.) Traded as TYO: 8515 Industry Consumer finance Predecessor Marutaka, Inc. Founded April 1967; 59 years ago (1967-04) Headquarters Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto , Japan Key people Yoshitaka Fukuda (President and CEO) Revenue ¥91.450 billion (2016) Operating income ¥7.009 billion (2016) Net income ¥7.276 billion (2016) Total assets ¥616.651 billion (2017) Total equity ¥111.649 billion (2017) Number of employees 2,293 (2017) **AIFUL Corporation** (アイフル株式会社, *Aifuru Kabushiki-gaisha*) ([TYO](/source/Tokyo_Stock_Exchange): [8515](https://www2.jpx.co.jp/tseHpFront/StockSearch.do?callJorEFlg=1&method=topsearch&topSearchStr=8515)) is one of the largest [Japanese](/source/Japan) [consumer finance](/source/Consumer_finance) companies. The company is based in [Kyoto](/source/Kyoto) and has annual profits of close to ¥100 billion on over ¥2 trillion worth of loans (2005). The company had to restructure its debt after failing to make a loan payment. ## History Aiful was established in April 1967 by [Yoshitaka Fukuda](/source/Yoshitaka_Fukuda) as a sole-proprietorship. In 1978, this small company was reformed in [Kyoto](/source/Kyoto) as Marutaka, Inc. and opened its first four branches to expand its consumer-finance business. The company continued to grow over the next five years and it acquired three small companies in the same business segment and renamed itself Aiful in 1983. These mergers gave the company over ¥90 million in capital and a growing market share in the consumer loan sector. Soon afterward, the company began to offer home-equity and small business loans. During the 1980s and up to the present day, the company has continued to expand by finding new investment opportunities, particularly real estate, engaging in mergers to increase its market share. Today the company offers a wide range of consumer financial services, ranging from issuing credit cards to providing home equity loans. Additionally, the company provides small business loans and until recently operated a chain of [karaoke](/source/Karaoke) parlors and Taiwanese-style restaurants. The company has 912 branches (many of them [automated teller machines](/source/Automated_teller_machine)) throughout Japan and currently employs over 2000 people. ## Criticism The company has many techniques to promote repayment that some have viewed as unscrupulous, but have resulted in a low default rate for the bank. Additionally, the company has been charged by some individuals with exploiting the financial problems of some consumers by offering high-rate loans that must be secured by collateral, often the individual's real estate. This may lead to loss of a consumer's home and has led to allegations that the company is a *[sarakin](/source/Sarakin)* or a [loan shark](/source/Loan_shark). Several advocacy groups have been formed for those who feel victimized by such practices. In 2006 regulators in Japan ruled against the lending practices of the consumer finance sector[1] and revised the maximum legal lending rate to 18.75% (down from a previous legal limit of 29%). Furthermore, this ruling enabled consumers to claim back the interest they have been overcharged from companies like Aiful [for a period of up to 10 years back](/source/Ex_post_facto_law), which forces them to make high provisions for these reimbursements on their balancesheet. On April 14, 2006, the FSA issued a business suspension order that forced Aiful to shut down domestic operations for three business days and in some areas up to 25 days. ## Advertising Aiful logo used until 2022 In contrast with the more staid image of the more traditional banks, Aiful and other consumer finance companies attempt to have a livelier image. For example, the signs and logos of Aiful and its subsidiaries are often very colorful and eye-catching, seeking to draw passersby into loan outlets. Recent advertisement campaigns have featured Chihuahua TV ads and special loans marketed towards women. Additionally, Aiful and other consumer finance companies often distribute packages of tissues at mass transit stations. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["The Japanese Consumer Finance Market and its Institutional Changes since the 1980s"](https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02088335v1/document#:~:text=In%202006%2C%20in%20order%20to,the%20overall%20consumer%20finance%20market). *shs.hal.science*. 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2024-06-06. ## External links - [Aiful Corp.](http://www.aiful.co.jp/) (in Japanese) - [Aiful Corp. IR info](https://web.archive.org/web/20050807014840/http://www.ir-aiful.com/english/) (in English) - [Consumer loans for women](http://www.asahi.com/english/lifestyle/TKY200410160114.html) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Aiful](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aiful) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aiful?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.