Nomura to make Asia the center of operations

Nomura Holdings, Inc is reorganizing its global finance unit in Asia outside of Japan as part of a continuing overhaul of Japan’s biggest brokerage.

Global finance units within the investment banking and fixed-income divisions will be reorganized into two main areas: debt origination including debt capital markets, private placements, leveraged finance and private financing activities and risk solutions.

About two months into the job, Chief Executive Officer Koji Nagai is reshaping Nomura by promising to cut US$1 billion in costs and make Asia the centre of its global operations. Nomura began eliminating some 30% of jobs at its European, Middle East and African investment banking division last week.

Some 45% of the latest cost savings will come from Europe, 21% from the Americas and 34% from Asia and Japan. Nagai’s restructuring follows a four-year effort by his predecessor, Kenichi Watanabe, to build Nomura’s overseas business after buying Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s European and Asian units in 2008.

Nomura is expanding its fixed-income operations, however. It will reassign people from other divisions to join the unit.