By Anton Bridge
TOKYO (Reuters) – The top of Nomura Holdings (NYSE:) on Tuesday apologised after a former worker was final month charged with a number of crimes together with tried homicide and theft, in what has turn into the most recent public scandal for the powerhouse Japanese brokerage.
CEO Kentaro Okuda made the apology earlier than his presentation at an investor summit, the place he mentioned the agency has room to chop prices by an extra 28 billion yen ($187 million) within the short- to medium-term.
The previous worker, who supplied asset administration recommendation to particular person and company purchasers, was suspected of robbing a consumer and having prompted a hearth on the consumer’s residence in July, Nomura mentioned in a launch.
Okuda and different executives will take a voluntary wage minimize for 3 months in response to the incident, Nomura mentioned.
The incident is one other blow to Nomura’s status after it was slapped with a 21.8 million yen ($145,000) positive from the banking regulator and briefly misplaced its standing as a major seller of presidency bonds earlier this yr over a market manipulation case involving bond buying and selling.
The efforts laid out by Okuda mark the most recent in Nomura’s multi-year technique to scale back bills, drive up its return on fairness and deal with steady, high-profit enterprise traces that has seen it publish six consecutive quarters of web revenue progress to the top of September this yr.
The measures come on high of Nomura’s present plan to chop 62 billion yen of prices within the short- and medium-term, which embrace optimising data know-how throughout the group, offshoring sure features and reviewing workplace areas.
Okuda additionally mentioned Nomura was making regular progress in the direction of its goal set final Could of reaching constant return on fairness of between 8% and 10%, as an example by rising its risk-light companies, which embrace underwriting and advisory providers.
Core to this technique is Nomura’s international wealth administration enterprise, which has elevated property underneath administration three-fold over the previous 4 years.
The unit provides brokerage, asset administration and mortgage merchandise and has developed know-how on a par with international requirements that Nomura now plans to make use of in its Japanese wealth administration arm, Okuda mentioned.
($1 = 150.0200 yen)
