Nomura hit by record fine for leaking insider information
NOMURA was hit by a record fine yesterday after it admitted staff had broken rules by sharing insider information with clients.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange charged the bank ¥200m (£1.55m) for leaking the information – the biggest fine the exchange has ever given out.
Information was also shared between the investment bank staff and the sales units.
Such a breech of rules is not treated as harshly under Japanese law as profiting from insider trading, but has still had a profound impact on the bank.
The scandal had already led to the resignation of chief executive Kenichi Watanabe in July.
In a mass resignation over the summer, Watanabe’s top lieutenant Takumi Shibata also left the firm, alongside five senior managing directors.
The bank has pledged to review internal controls and processes in an effort to stop any repeat of the scandal.
Nomura is also cutting back its investment banking operations, trimming jobs in equities as part of a $1bn (£620m) savings drive.
Staff in London are likely to be particularly badly effected by the shake-up, as the City is one of the bank’s largest centres outside of Japan.
The bank’s shares fell 0.69 per cent yesterday.