Nomura NYC Layoffs

Bloomberg:

Nomura Dismisses 60 Staffers as Market Outlook Spurs Caution

• About 30 people, mostly investment bankers, are leaving in US
• Bank says its reducing roles given ‘environment and outlook’

Nomura Holdings Inc. is cutting about 60 staffers as the firm continues to seek ways to cut costs across its investment bank in response to the ongoing slump in dealmaking and capital markets activity.

The cuts include about 30 people in the US, according to people familiar with the matter. The majority of those staffers impacted were in investment banking, the people said, who asked not be named discussing personnel.

Several trading and sales staffers in London as well as employees in Asian countries other than Japan have also left the firm, the people said. The cuts aren’t targeted at particular teams or levels of seniority, one of the people said.

“Nomura regularly reviews its headcount needs taking into consideration market demand and business requirements globally,” a spokesperson for the bank said in an emailed statement. “Considering the current market environment and outlook, we are delivering efficiencies by reducing certain roles across our international wholesale business.”

The move comes after Nomura began cutting roughly 20 staffers following a review of the firm’s markets and investment banking businesses in October.

Central banks around the world have ratcheted up interest rates in recent quarters, stymieing merger and acquisition activity and hurting banks’ fees. Wall Street giants including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley have been cutting jobs in response to the drop in revenue.

Nomura has said it is aiming to cut an additional $100 million in costs across in its wholesale banking division, which includes investment banking and trading. Chief Executive Officer Kentaro Okuda is trying to revitalize the Japanese banking giant after profit fell in his first three years in office.