Nomura has axed around 30 dealmakers in the City as part of a broader move to trim its international investment bank as fees have slumped.
The Japanese bank has become the latest firm to react to a decline in dealmaking, rolling out job cuts across its operations in Europe, the US and Asia Pacific, according to people with knowledge of the plans.
In London, around 10% of its dealmaking team — or 30 people — have been put at risk of redundancy, according to people with knowledge of the matter. These are largely in areas where Nomura has limited scale. Technology media services and financial institutions-focused bankers were included in the City cuts.
“2022 saw a material deterioration in global investment banking fee pools and, as a result, we have had to reduce headcount in certain areas,” a spokesperson said. “These changes are designed to ensure we retain focus in our key areas of competitive advantage, whilst maintaining core capabilities to position the platform for sustainable profitability.”
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Nomura has been reshaping its investment bank under Jeff McDermott, who was installed as global co-head of the unit in 2021. He has been focused on hiring dealmakers in key sectors such as ESG, instead of going toe-to-toe with big Wall Street players across all products. This included the creation of a global greentech, industrial and infrastructure unit last year, which numbers around 150 bankers.
“We’re deliberately picking our shots,” McDermott told FN in May 2022.
Most large investment banks have now cut dealmakers after fees slumped by more than 40% in 2022. It is a stark contrast to a year earlier, when an unprecedented deal boom led to an intense fight for talent and led to some of the biggest bonuses since before the 2008 financial crisis.
Goldman Sachs started cutting bankers on 9 January as part of a plan that will eventually see around 3,200 staff depart. Rivals Barclays, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley all cut jobs last year.
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