Nomura restructures investment banking teams

Nomura is making changes to its investment banking teams, creating a “clearing house for cross-border ideas” through a virtual cross-border M&A team, and amalgamating groups, amid a shake-up at the Japanese bank.

The bank will merge the M&A and UK teams under Adrian Fisk, who previously co-headed European M&A with Andrew McNaught. It is understood that McNaught will stay on at the bank in his old role.

The healthcare team is being incorporated into the bank’s consumer and retail team, with the combined operation to be led by Ludovico del Balzo, previously global head of the consumer and retail group. The Nordic and industrials teams will be combined under Mikael Dahl, previously head of Nordic investment banking.

The virtual M&A team will comprise elected individuals from each of its teams under Jonathan Rouner, who will manage the co-ordination efforts in addition to his existing responsibilities as head of the industrials group and M&A in the Americas. Charles Pitts-Tucker, joint international head of investment banking, said the ideas clearing house would be for “all cross-border ideas and dealflow, and will ensure that relevant opportunities are identified, pursued and, ultimately, executed.”

As part of the restructuring, Saba Nazar, co-head of the global financial sponsors group, will take charge of the telecommunications, media and technology team. Nazar was named in Financial News’ 100 most influential women in finance list last year. The TMT team has historically been a standalone sector team within the investment banking group. It was the largest of the sector-focused groups and has seen the most cuts, bringing the team size in line with other sector teams.

The move is part of an effort to “ensure that we don’t let any opportunities slip through the net”, according to Pitts-Tucker.

“We are focusing on our core strengths and core relationships. For example, we have a good dialogue with private equity firms and a strong leveraged finance business, and this focus will continue.”

In September, the bank announced that about two-thirds of its planned $1bn in job cuts would be made across its European and US operations. The bank, under new chief executive Koji Nagai, will look to refocus on its close business ties in Asia.

Pitts-Tucker said: “Communication and connectivity are essential – it’s not magic but part of creating a much tighter ship.”