A talent shortage in Japan¡¯s financial industry is becoming so acute that even the biggest banks are struggling to find experienced people. It¡¯s tougher still for regional lenders that can¡¯t pay enough to lure market veterans away from Tokyo.

One rural bank has come up with a creative way to deal with the problem. Yamanashi Chuo Bank has set up an ¡°investment advisory firm¡± to get around internal salary limits and attract talent to manage its ?1.1 trillion ($7.6 billion) securities portfolio, said Yoshiaki Furuya, president of the lender.

Japanese banks tend to structure compensation plans in a way that makes it difficult to give outsized pay to specific employees. By establishing an in-house company to avoid such constraints, it shows the lengths that a bank like Yamanashi Chuo is taking to bolster its ranks in a market where expertise is running short.