Nomura

Nomura Profile & Stats

Nomura is an up and coming banking heavyweight that boasts a full range of securities and investment banking services. Although best known domestically as a retail bank, in recent years Nomura has expanded its international presence, now employing 26,000+ staff across 30 countries, with 18 outposts in Europe and the Middle East. The firm’s international operations were certainly boosted by the headline-grabbing acquisition of Lehman in 2008. Nomura secured the fallen banking star’s equities and investment banking operations in Asia for £123 million, and the European and Middle Eastern arms for £1.09... yes, that’s right £1.09! This nominal sum is all the more amazing considering the latter typically represented half of Lehman’s annual revenue.

A Bit of Background

Today, Nomura operates out of Tokyo, but like many Japanese conglomerates, its origins trace back to Osaka. Founded by Tokushichi Nomura II in 1919, the firm was built on the model of Japan’s first private bank, Mitsui zaibatsu, and on Christmas Day 1925, Nomura Holdings was established as Nomura Securities. Just two years later, the firm made its first step to becoming an international powerhouse, with a subsidiary opening for business in New York.

In 1946, its head office made the aforementioned 300 mile move east to Tokyo, and in the early Fifties, Nomura began managing investments. The ensuing years were marked by international expansion, with the firm joining the swinging epoch of London in 1964. Jump forward forty years or so, and Nomura changed to a holding company structure, with the firm being listed on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2001.

The past decade has seen concerted efforts in gaining a continental foothold, a tactic which has brought some success. In 2005, Nomura’s alliance with Rothschild strengthened cross-border M&A advisory opportunities between Japan and Europe, leading to a strategy of distributing Japanese and Asian products into Europe.

Then, in 2008, came the acquisition of Lehman Brothers, a deal that was subsequently plastered across newspapers and TV reports worldwide. But amongst the dollar signs and business conjecture, was the direct human effect, with the move preserving thousands of bankers’ jobs and bolstering Nomura’s ranks by over 8,000. The firm not only inherited a dedicated workforce, but 20 offices in Europe and the Middle East, and Lehman’s impressive roster of FTSE 100 clients.

A Closer Look at Divisions & Departments

Nomura offers its clients a full range of securities and investment banking services; these include asset management, merchant banking, corporate advisory, derivatives, foreign exchange, sales and trading, research and capital raising. On the continent, the firm’s focus is on securities brokerage services, underwriting, M&A advisory and asset management.