Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) has launched a weather derivatives contract for unusually hot or cold summer temperatures in Japan, says an official for the bank. The first contract was done for companies based in Tokyo, but the bank is also targeting companies in the rest of Japan.

The idea is for SMBC to work as an intermediary between companies that are subject to lower profits if summer temperatures are unseasonably high, such as hot noodle soup manufacturers, and