Financial institutions have been stepping up their efforts to support the business conditions of small and medium-sized firms. They have long supported the business conditions of such firms through financing, but these firms also face a wide range of management challenges other than financing. To resolve the issues faced by these firms, financial institutions have been providing support for the exploration of new markets such as business matching and the business succession of firms with elderly owners. These services have an important feature, in that financial institutions intermediate a range of information to their borrowing firms, utilizing corporate information and customer networks attained through their lending operations. Moreover, some financial institutions have recently begun to enhance the quality of their services by expanding their networks through cooperation with other financial institutions at home and abroad and with related groups.