The Japanese banking giant’s cost-cutting progress has given it space for expansion and it will focus on its wealth and fixed income business in Asia.
In total, Nomura will look to hire around 100 for its regional wealth and fixed income unit, according to a «Bloomberg» report, after achieving most of the planned 140 billion ($1.3 billion) reduction in costs worldwide.
On the former, the bank will look to hire around 20 to 25 private bankers annually over the next two to three years, with a focus on Greater China and Southeast Asia markets.
And on the latter, it will hire up to 40 workers in the next 18 months in sales and trading for private debt, delta one products and its macro business – the largest revenue generator in the region.
Recruitment in 2020
The bank has already 20 to 25 private bankers this year, the report added, from rivals like Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas. Half of the addition this year have been focused on Greater China and Southeast Asia markets, including the recent addition of a team to cover Thailand and Vietnam.
Newly appointed chief executive Kentaro Okuda reportedly said earlier this week that the bank planned to boost assets under management in the Middle East and Asia ex-Japan by five times to $35 billion.
Separately, Nomura is also undergoing a hiring spree for its mainland China wealth management joint venture, having added around 170 people year-to-date.
Asia-Focused Growth Mode
Although still in the midst of cost reduction, Nomura noted the economic importance of the region and underlined that it was not in «headcount reduction mode».
«Pretty much all of the West is now operating at zero interest rates, and likely to remain at zero interest rates for a long time. The only high-quality yield, so safe yield as it were, is really in the Asian economies,» said Nomura’s head of global markets for Asia excluding Japan Rig Karkhanis.
«We are not in headcount reduction mode. Cutting the business can affect our ability to grow other areas.»
