Nomura in Fed securities role
THE New York Federal Reserve yesterday named Japan’s Nomura Securities International as a US primary dealer of Treasury securities, effective immediately.
The addition of Nomura, a unit of Nomura Holdings, increases the number of firms that deal directly with the US Federal Reserve to 18. Primary dealers are required to bid at Treasury auctions, and the Fed regularly consults with them as it gathers market intelligence.
Nomura’s global presence has grown significantly since its acquisition of Lehman Brothers’ Asian and European operations last year, which took its worldwide workforce from 18,000 to 26,000.
Nomura has also been building its equity sales and trading teams in United States in a bid to expand overseas business, hiring about 250 people.
“After the successful integration of Lehman Brothers in Europe and Asia, the build-out of the US remains the final piece of the puzzle for Nomura,” said Nomura Securities International’s president and chief executive, Shigesuke Kashiwagi.
Nomura had dropped its primary dealership in November 2007, saying it was focusing on its “core operations” in the US.