The largest industrial groups allowed banks and trading

companies to be the most powerful aspects of each of the

cartels and sit at the top of an organizational chart. Banks and
trading companies controlled all financial operations with
significant control over each company's part of the keiretsu.
Typical of a Japanese horizontal keiretsu is Mitsubishi where the
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi sits at the top of the keiretsu. Also
part of the core group is Mitsubishi Motors and Mitsubishi Trust
and Banking followed by Meiji Mutual Life Insurance Company
which provides insurance to all members of the keiretsu.
Mitsubishi Shoji is the trading company for the Mitsubishi
keiretsu.
The primary aspect of a horizontal keiretsu (also known as
financial keiretsu) is that it is set up around a Japanese bank
through cross-shareholding relationships with other companies.
The bank assists these companies with a range of financial
services. The leading horizontal Japanese keiretsu, also referred
to
as
the
Big
Six
include: Fuyo, Sanwa, Sumitomo, Mitsubishi, Mitsui,
and DaiIchi Kangyo bank groups. Horizontal keiretsu may also have
vertical relationships, called branches.
Vertical keiretsus are the group of companies within the
horizontal keiretsu such as Toyota. Toyota's success is
dependent on suppliers and manufacturers for parts,
employees for production, real estate for dealerships, steel,
plastics and electronics suppliers for cars as well as
wholesalers. All ancillary companies operate within the vertical
keiretsu of Toyota but are members of the larger horizontal
keiretsu, although much lower on the organizational chart.
Without Toyota as the anchor company, these companies may
not have a purpose for existence.