Taro Suzuki's fledgling contact-lens company didn't look like the kind of business that would get a large loan from one of Japan's three megabanks. It was losing money, lacked collateral and had no proven products.

Last August, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. lent Mr. Suzuki's Universal View Co. about $500,000. The company hired employees, invested in new sales kits and, four months later, got nearly $3 million in new capital from an investor.

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